


Will You Go Out With Me?

by Into_Evernight



Category: AFI
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, High School, Humor, M/M, Satire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 06:32:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3109625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Into_Evernight/pseuds/Into_Evernight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Davey never thought that some random kid in the hall would become his greatest pursuer. It may just be harmless flirtation, but that doesn't mean he wants it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One: And when their eyes met, Jade was head over heels in puppy love

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on AFIslash from 11/07/2010 through 02/26/2011.
> 
> Um, I know I should be doing other things right now but... I just had to post this. Although it's "shitfic," I really like it, and I hope you will too. ;)
> 
> Thanks to Hellion for beta-reading and my sister, Angel, for listening. X)
> 
> Disclaimer: These are mere characters based on the members of AFI (not the real members, duh). I do not own; I do not make money. No disrespect, harm, or libel is intended; this never ever happened (and never will) as this is 100 percent fictitious.

Another normal day at Ukiah High; same old boring classes, same old boring teachers, same old boring schedule. It was seven in the morning and Davey already wanted to go home just thinking about what kind of day might lay ahead of him. He stifled the fiftieth yawn since he'd gotten off the bus and ambled towards his locker, pushing through the milling throngs of students. What a pain. He just wanted to go home and crawl back into his nice, warm, cozy bed. It was chilly and wet outside—perfect weather for cuddling in the blankets and snoozing until noon. If he'd had it his way, he'd be there right now, maybe going back to sleep while listening to Minor Threat or something. He groaned. Fuck this shit. He hated school right now. Already feeling cranky, he spun his combination and threw his locker door open.

Something heavy suddenly bumped into his side, and his textbooks fell to the floor—or, rather, on his feet. He winced, hissing slightly in pain, then whirled around to face the perpetrator with narrowed eyes.

“Watch where you're going!” he snapped irritably. He was not in the mood to deal with shit.

A tall, skinny boy with big brown eyes and two-toned hair met his glare with a sheepish smile. He held his hands up in mock-surrender. “Sorry, sorry.”

“Yeah, you should be,” Davey grumbled, bending down to pick up his hated textbooks. Wiping the dirt off of his psychology book—much to his dismay discovering it was mud instead—he tried to suppress the urge to bring it down on this clumsy moron's head for disrupting his already terrible morning. His annoyance soon turned to disgust when he looked up to see the boy still hovering over him and watching him with glassy eyes, same stupid grin on his face. “What do you want?”

“Oh, nothin' much.” the boy replied with a nonchalant shrug. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and stooped down to help Davey gather the rest of his things. Davey was so intent on wiping the crud off his book on his sweatshirt that he didn't notice the boy picking up a dog-eared notebook, rifling through it curiously. After staring at one page for a moment with a perplexed frown, he murmured, “Pretty cool poems.”

Davey bristled. Poems? That could only mean... He turned to see this person looking at _his_ private notebook. How rude of him to go reading other people's things! And how _dare_ he call them poems! They _weren't_ poems. Couldn't he tell that those were song lyrics? Snatching the notebook from his hands, Davey grumbled, “Don't go looking through my shit. 'Sides, those aren't poems.” Under his breath, he added, “Idiot.”

“No need to get all pissy about it,” the boy grumbled. He sulked for a grand total of ten seconds, then bounced back to his previously chipper state. How surprising and strange... “So, what's your name?”

Davey took his sweet time answering, instead inspecting the pages of his precious notebook for further damage. Well, okay, more like he pretended to be inspecting it. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to answer or not. There was something about this kid that left a nagging feeling in his stomach...and it wasn't the good kind. But he wasn't going to go away; Davey could still feel his presence, and see him out of the corner of his eye, crouching there like some sort of animal. The way he was looking at him was just... _weird_. It kind of freaked him out but he shrugged it off, deciding it must've only been his imagination.

“Hey, did you hear me?”

Shuddering at the sensation of hot breath ghosting over his neck, causing the skin there to prickle unpleasantly, he turned slowly to find that the boy was inches away from his face. At this point, he really didn’t think he wanted to answer, but he was cornered. It might be the only way to get him to back off. “Yeah. My name's Davey.”

“Oh, cool name!” The boy smiled widely, revealing a set of jacked up teeth.

Davey had to raise an eyebrow at this. Cool name? Really? What the fuck? He laughed weakly. “Um, yeah. Ha.” This was getting unbearably awkward. Picking up the last of his books, he slowly got to his feet, Converse squeaking obnoxiously on the wet linoleum floor.

“My name's Jade,” the boy offered, standing up as well. He stepped closer to Davey.

Instinctively, Davey took a step back, clutching his books tighter. “Oh, uh, okay.” _That was such a weird name for a guy._ “Well, uh, nice to meet you.” Shivering a little, he turned and started to walk down the hall towards the cafeteria. Now that _that_ encounter was over with, he could go find Mark and Adam. That's what he planned to do anyway.

“So what are you doing?” Jade asked, following him as he headed down the hall.

Blinking, Davey shot him a strange look over his shoulder. Okay, that was a little...weird. He wasn't exactly sure how he felt about it. But just as he was about to mumble some excuse to get rid of this kid, some desperation in Jade's eyes spoke to him and for some reason he took pity on him. Maybe he was just lonely or wanted some new friends. He shouldn't write him off just yet, he decided. So he made his first mistake. “Just gonna go hang with some friends.” He hesitated, debating whether or not he should really follow through with this. After all, Jade had been kind of annoying at first. Then again, it couldn't possibly be that bad, could it? Shifting from one foot to the other, he wrinkled his nose. He glanced up to meet Jade's sad, hopeful gaze, and that was it. Nah, it wouldn't be a problem. “So, uh, wanna hang out with us?”

His face lit up. “Yeah, sure.” Eager, he fell into step beside Davey, shooting him these _strange_ glances every so often.

Davey was getting that awful twist in his stomach again. His intuition was screaming at him. But he ignored it. It had to be nothing. He was just sleep deprived; that was all.

But then...he felt something brush against his hand, and when he looked down, he saw Jade's hand dangling uncomfortably close to his own. Jerking his hand away, he stared up at Jade with wide eyes. He wanted to believe it was an accident but he caught sight of a grin that would've rivaled the Cheshire cat, and he inwardly recoiled as the hand came swinging towards his own again.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he sputtered, eyes widening. No, this could _not_ be happening. It was his imagination; it _had_ to be.

“Nothin',” Jade replied, sloppy grin widening.

Shaken, Davey straightened up, posture stiff. “Whatever. Don't do it again.”

“Don't do what again? I didn't do anything.” Jade pointed out, stifling a giggle. Yes, a _giggle_.

Davey stared at him. “Um...Dude, you tried to...” He trailed off, shuddering slightly.

Even as Jade protested, his hand was drifting dangerously close to Davey's personal space again. It soon encroached on his personal being, and although Davey didn't usually mind physical contact, this was _weird_. He flinched almost instantly as the grubby hand groped at his lower back, finally finding a comfortable resting place right beyond his hip. In the mere nanosecond that Jade had his hand alighted there, Davey's entire body going rigid in response, they were the recipients of several disgusted looks. And Davey couldn't very well blame them for it. He was disgusted too.

Tearing away from Jade, he asked almost hysterically, “What was that?”

“What was what?” There he went playing dumb again. Davey was getting really sick of this game.

“You...you touched me,” he stammered, both repulsed and horrified.

Jade shrugged in response. “Oh, sorry. I didn't notice.”

Eyeing him suspiciously, Davey reluctantly accepted his apology. “Okay. Whatever.” Yeah, it didn't sound legit to him, but he'd let it go for now. At least Jade had admitted it. But if it happened again...

In the meantime, he'd ignore the creepy vibes he was getting. He might not feel right about this, but he strangely wanted to know more about Jade. It was probably _because_ he was so weird. And Davey liked weird people...most of the time. Well, if it came down to it, this would be a one time thing, and he'd never have to hang out with Jade again.

That's what he thought.


	2. Two: Jade becomes Davey's knight in lackluster armor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I know I'm behind on stuff here and I feel guilty about updating when I haven't gotten other things done, but, erm, writing is all I've been able to do the past week and a half. =[ And I liked it, so I decided to post it while I still liked it. XD
> 
> As usual, thanks to Hellion for beta-reading (and doing it so quickly too! She's amazing!) and my sister Angel for helping and beta-ing too. :3
> 
> Disclaimer: These are mere characters based on the members and affiliates of AFI (not the real people, duh). I do not own; I do not make money. No disrespect, harm, or libel is intended; this never ever happened (and never will) as this is 100 percent fictitious.
> 
> Oh, and I feel so bad about what I've made poor Mark do. It makes me want to write a nice story about him!

“Dude, the fuck?”

Mark slipped off the cafeteria table, glancing to Jade then Davey then back to Jade again. Snorting, obviously disgusted, he turned to Adam, who stood with his arms crossed over his chest and his expression completely blank. Well, maybe not completely blank. He sort of had that deer in headlights look going on, the kind of look he got whenever he was horrified, or didn't know what to think or say about something. The moment really called for both of those reasons.

What had incurred the disgust of Davey's friends was a particularly ballsy—and stupid—move from Jade. He'd feigned a yawn and stretched an arm across Davey's shoulders, then smiled sloppily like a silly puppy dog. It was all very immature—and very disturbing. Davey felt sick to his stomach...again. He could feel it rolling and sloshing uncomfortably as Jade's hand massaged his shoulder.

Laughing awkwardly, he brushed Jade's hand off and edged away, running a hand through his stringy, greasy hair. Now he _knew_ Jade wasn't fucking around. His persistence made it clear that he genuinely seemed to have a thing for him and it was making him very very nervous. And _not_ in a good way. Snapping at him hadn't really worked and neither had casually brushing him off. What should he do? Reverse psychology? The thought made him feel worse. Oh, fuck. Only as a last resort.

“So, what do you guys like to do for fun?” Jade asked, interrupting the silence and looking at each of them with that same silly, happy smile. He was looking more and more like a dog.

Mark crossed his arms over his chest, imitating Adam's stance only a bit more assertively. He stuck his chest out a little. “What kind of question is that?”

Davey couldn't help but turn his head in Mark's direction, surprised. What kind of _answer_ was that? Even if Jade was annoying, he didn't deserve to be treated like shit just for asking a relatively normal question. Not that Mark usually acted like this. What had gotten into him?

Davey tried to redirect him, shooting him a warning glare. “What the fuck crawled up your ass and died?”

Adam broke out of his trance, snorting loudly, shoulders shaking. This earned him a death stare from Mark and he quickly lapsed into a loud coughing fit. Mark's eyes fell on Davey again, jaw clenched and vein bulging.

“You wanna know what crawled up my ass and died? Do you really want to know?” Mark grabbed him by the front of the shirt, shoving him up against the brick wall. Davey cringed, gritting his teeth and gripping Mark's wrist. In response, Mark pressed him harder into the wall. “Huh?”

“The fuck?” Davey writhed a bit, trying desperately to pry Mark off of him. “What got into you, man?”

“Fuck you!” Mark yelled, bringing back a clenched fist.

At first, Davey didn't think he'd do it; he inwardly scoffed. Mark would never hit him. He never had, so there was no reason he should start now. So Davey opened his mouth to make some sort of smart ass remark, like _haha, yeah, very funny_ or _knock it off, dumbfuck_. But he didn't get the chance because next thing he knew, Mark's fist was an inch from connecting with his face and Jade's grasp on his arm was the only thing that was preventing it from following through.

Despite himself, Davey felt a rush of adrenaline at the shock and the blood pounded through his body fast enough to make him dizzy. Mark truly _would've_ done it, and what was more, he had come that close to dealing him a pretty hard blow. Cutting a glance to Jade, he found that the once so cutesy-pie boy had a solemn, bitter expression on his face, brow furrowed and eyes darker than before. When he spoke, though, it practically undid the intimidation his fierce glare caused.

“Get away from him,” he said, trying to growl but failing. It sounded more like a weak purr or something.

Davey arched an eyebrow. He would've said something if he were in a position to make snide remarks. This kid—as weird and pussy as he was—had just saved his ass a large, aching bruise or two. Snapping his mouth shut, he glanced back up at Mark, whose gaze was now locked with Jade's—and it wasn't pretty. His jaw was clenched even tighter, scowl deepening by the second. He looked so fierce that Davey was sure Jade the beanstalk would snap in two just from his glare. While he was still distracted, Davey squirmed to get free from his grip but it wasn't until he'd given him a sharp kick to the shin—combined with a little nudge to the ribs—that he could breathe though, much less move.

Stumbling away from the two—who were still staring at each other unmoving—Davey looked over at Adam standing against the wall. Annoyed, he let out an angry noise. “What's wrong with you?” he demanded, fists balling up. “Why didn't you help get him offa me?”

“I dunno.” Adam shrugged.

Davey couldn't calm the weird feeling that rose inside him again. He had no idea what was going on or what was wrong with his friends. They weren't acting right. He'd thought that Jade might've been a little weird, but this... This was really fucked up. Maybe he was dreaming. Upon pinching himself, he found that nothing had changed and he was still standing in the middle of the cafeteria.

It then dawned on him and it was so ridiculous and obvious that he couldn't help but laugh out loud. He was _so_ stupid. They were playing a trick on him for Christ's sake. Had to be. There was no other explanation for this craziness.

“Oh, _fuck_ , you guys got me good.” Davey snorted, straightening up. He shoved Adam's shoulder a little, earning a bewildered look. “Seriously, though. Knock it off.”

“What're you talking about?” Adam asked, forehead creasing in confusion.

At first Davey thought he was kidding but Adam wouldn't stop staring at him as though he'd sprouted a second head. Coughing to cover up the awkward tension, he tried to explain himself, but only ended up mumbling nonesense beneath his breath, Adam shaking his head slowly at whatever the fuck he was trying to say. It was then, with a massive sinking feeling, Davey realized that this wasn't a joke.

“This isn't a joke...” Davey's voice faltered, growing weaker near the end of his statement.

“Uh, no. I don't see anything funny about this.” Adam paused, frowning slightly. “Do you?”

Davey shifted uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck. “Guess not.”

He threw a glance back over at Mark and Jade as a scream rang out through the hallway, and found that Mark had pinned Jade to the ground, knees on his stomach and hands clutching his scrawny shoulders. Although Jade had been able to stop him before, suddenly he was reduced to a shivering, whimpering blob. Torn, Davey wondered if he should go help him, or if he should just leave it be since Jade could probably figure it out for himself. Watching the two start to roll around the floor, limbs flailing and nothing really getting accomplished, he inwardly groaned. Pathetic. Normally, he would go jump in there and fight, but to be honest, it didn't really look like much of a fight. It looked more like slapping each other around and trying to make some big fucking show of it. He was disgusted. What sad excuses for punks—if Jade could even be considered one at all in the first place, that was.

He was a half a breath away from shouting something about posers when Adam clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Dude, wanna get out of here?”

Shuddering, Davey nodded. “Uh, sure.”

Adam picked up his skateboard and headed for the hall. “Let's get your board and go out by the amphitheatre.”

“Sounds good to me.” Anything sounded good to Davey at this point. Anything that would get him away from Mark and Jade.

–

By noon, Davey was feeling a lot better, especially since it seemed like he'd lost his little pest. Ah, peace. Adam seemed to be back to his normal self too, so Davey figured he'd just been really tired that morning. Mark...God knew what had been wrong with him. They didn't see him so Davey guessed he'd gotten in-school suspension or something. He felt kind of bad for not trying to break up the, ahem, _fight_ but there wasn't anything he could really do about it now.

He and Adam chose a spot out at the amphitheatre to sit and eat their lunches. They flopped down on a concrete step, propping their skateboards next to them. It was still cold and wet outside, but even that beat being crammed in the smelly, noisy cafeteria. Plus, God knew, Jade might be in there. Davey shuddered at the thought—or maybe it was from the cold—and hunched his shoulders as though trying to disappear into the depths of his oversized sweatshirt.

He scarfed his sandwich in about five minutes, crumpling the paper and tossing it wherever it wanted to land. Adam followed suit, then wiped his crummy hands on his jeans and grabbed his board, swallowing the last huge mouthful of sandwich.

“Wanna skate?”

Davey shifted, hanging his arms over his knees briefly before moving to get up. “Yeah, I guess.” He picked his board up as well, and hopped down to the step below them, grimacing when he stomped right in the middle of a puddle. The water wicked up the canvas of his shoes and soon his socks were soaked. He swore. “Mother fucker!”

Adam laughed loudly. “Idiot.” He dropped his board, jumping from the second step onto it. It went flying out from under him and he landed smack on his ass in some mud puddle which only added to the crap on his jeans.

Now it was Davey's turn to laugh. “Who's the idiot now?” he taunted, coming down the steps. He nudged Adam lightly with the toe of his shoe, eliciting a groan.

“Fuck.”

“C'mon. Get up.” Davey kicked him gently again, smiling crookedly. A little twinge of worry sprung inside him. He sincerely hoped Adam hadn't broken his ass or something. Maybe a little sarcasm would get him going. “Need me to carry you to the nurse?”

“No.” Adam groaned again, slowly, painfully, dragging himself from the ground and wiping the seat of his pants off the best he could.

Snickering softly, Davey asked, “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Face burning, Adam mounted his skateboard again, and kicked off.

Davey followed him, laughs still echoing off the surrounding buildings. They managed to make a few rounds, popping Ollies and kickflips whenever they felt it was appropriate or thought someone was watching them. Pretty amateurish stuff, but there wasn't much room to do anything really fancy. Davey didn't really mind though. The dumb freshmen were still awed. They did this for about ten minutes before Adam got bored and brought himself to a grinding halt so he could face Davey with a terrible smirk.

“Dude, you skate like an eighth grader.”

“What?” Davey shook his hair out of his eyes, kicking the edge of his board and catching the other end in his hand. He glared. Adam only continued to smile smugly, beady eyes glistening in triumph. And _then_ he got it. This was a challenge. Oh, he was game. “You really think so, huh?”

“I know so,” Adam pressed, crossing his arms.

“Oh, yeah? I'm sure I can skate at least a hundred times better than you.” Davey narrowed his eyes, balling his hands into fists.

“Yeah? Prove it.”

Licking his lips, Davey actually stopped to think for a minute. It might not be such a good idea to do this here, now. But then again, that daring leer that Adam was giving him, the threaten of shame if he should back out of it.... Nah, he couldn't face that. He'd be fine, anyway. Dropping his skateboard, he hopped back on it, jerking his head back to smirk arrogantly at Adam. “You're on.”

“Wanna bet?” Adam asked greedily, his own smirk growing.

“What's the bet?” Davey couldn't help but ask. He knew he shouldn't but he could use an extra five bucks.

“It's easy enough,” Adam told him, “If you got the balls for it, that is.” He paused, then pointed to the handrail that extended down the length of the steps. “See that? I want you to grind all the way down it. Five bucks.”

“Five bucks for that?” Davey looked at the rail, then back at Adam's wolfish grin. Part of him felt annoyed. He should really wager more because it could be pretty dangerous even for a simple trick. Then again, if he made a fuss about it Adam might tease him. Tongue darting out to wet his lips again, he nodded. If he lost, it'd only be five bucks and if not—well, he'd have enough to buy a new album. “You're on.”

He picked up his board and all but jumped up the steps, two at a time. He got to the top and looked down the rail, down at the ground, down at Adam. Even from up here he could see Adam's victorious smirk. Fuck, he'd wipe that look right off his face. So what if he couldn't just pop up and grind that motherfucker like he normally would? There were ways around that shit. Climbing up onto the rail, he tried to position his skateboard. It was difficult to do when he could hardly stand. Every time he bent down almost far enough to put his board on the rail, he found himself losing his balance and teetering dangerously. Okay...maybe this wasn't such a good idea. His stomach was dropping just looking down the steps, and he felt his heart jump into his throat each time he almost fell over. Vaguely, he wondered if this was even possible. Although his brain screamed at him otherwise, he brushed it off like it were no big deal. Just...a few deep breaths. He could do this.

“God, you're an idiot!” Adam yelled from the bottom, laughing loudly. “You'll do _anything_ for a quick buck, I swear.”

“Shut up!” Davey yelled back, flinging each arm out on either side of him to steady himself. Then, dropping his voice to mutter underneath his breath: “Fucker.”

Okay, it was now or never. He had to do this before a teacher—or worse, security—caught him. Taking a final deep breath, he gradually leaned down to try, once more, to set his board down. So far, so good. He began to feel a little better about this. Yeah, he could do this. He was going to make it. He might be going slower than he'd wanted, but—

An overly excited—and overly _familiar_ —voice called out to him suddenly, breaking his concentration. “Hey, Davey!”

Without meaning to, he tore his eyes from what he was doing and looked over his shoulder to see _Jade_. And he was coming towards him. And now he was wobbling. And now he was...oh fuck.

The last thing he heard before he hit the concrete steps was Jade's shrill cry, and it only served to make the pain worse. “Davey, _no_!” Fuck, one would've thought that _he_ was the one getting his ass served to him by a handrail and a couple of steps.

Thankfully, one of his legs got tangled on the rail and broke his fall just enough to keep him from killing himself. Still, he managed to crack his head fairly hard on the step below him and it nearly knocked him out on impact. Even as he heard wild, panicked footsteps hurrying towards him, his vision was blurring, darkening. And the last—and worst—thing he saw before losing consciousness was Jade's concerned puppy eyes looking into his own, lips moving to garbled words Davey was too fucked up to understand.

Everything went black.


	3. Three: Jade will catch Davey every time he falls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dudes, I can't believe it's taken me a month to update this. :S I have a plan for how to make updates faster though because I really want to get this story moving.
> 
> Thanks to Hellion and my sister, Angel, for beta-ing.
> 
> Disclaimer: These are mere characters based on the members of AFI (not the real members, duh). I do not own; I do not make money. No disrespect, harm, or libel is intended; this never ever happened (and never will) as this is 100 percent fictitious.

The first thing that Davey was aware of was that his head hurt—a lot. It throbbed in protest even when he tried to move his arm. Groaning weakly, he let his head flop to the other side. Damn, even his eyes hurt. He couldn’t seem to open his them; blackness surrounded him. What was more, he couldn’t hear clearly either; all he heard were muddled, muffled sounds, sort of like whenever he went swimming and ducked underwater. That’s how he felt now—like he was floating underwater where everything was dark, quiet, and confusing.

Gradually, the piercing white-hot fluorescents penetrated the heavy shields of his eyelids. He found himself squinting into it, blinking rapidly. The pain hit him soon after, sharp and hard. Sucking in a quick breath, he squeezed his eyes shut as dizziness overtook him. This really fuckin’ sucked. His stomach clenched and he thought he was going to be sick.

As he came to, he began to realize he was in the nurse’s office. He managed to crack his reluctant eyelids open enough to look around at his surroundings. Yep, sterile white walls, sterile white ceiling, sterile white linoleum floor—okay, so maybe that wasn’t so sterile. It looked kind of gross actually. Someone had tracked mud in and trailed it in loops and figure eights all over the damn place. He vaguely wondered if it had been him, then realized he couldn’t have walked in there. Well, fuck. If he hadn’t walked there himself, then how did he get there?

It slowly came back to him what had happened, and the worst part was remembering his teasing jeer directed at Adam. _Need me to carry you to the nurse?_ Oh, hell no. The irony hurt.

He craned his neck but couldn’t get it far enough to look to each side, to see if Adam was there. A sharp shock of pain prevented that and he quickly obeyed its demands. Damn it, he was never going to feel better. He was just going to curl up and die. What if he was dead already? What if his body was laid out on the nurse’s couch, ready to be taken away to the funeral home or wherever the fuck dead people went? Fear grasped him tightly.

Two things managed to convince him he wasn’t dead after all. One, his head throbbed even more when his heart started pumping faster. Two, he finally heard something—voices. At first, he couldn’t tell whose they were, but it was comforting enough to know he wasn’t alone. Blinking against the light, he listened intently, starting to worry that maybe he’d gone deaf from hitting his head. Didn’t people with brain injuries lose their senses? Fuck, he must be halfway deaf; he was going to go deaf. God, he was such an idiot. He should’ve listened to his mom when she told him to wear a helmet, that he was going to crack his head open. Oh, _shit_ , she’d been right. But now it was too late. A soft, pathetic whimper escaped him. Oh, God, please…if he would just not go deaf he swore he’d wear a helmet every time he skated, no matter how fuckin’ dorky it was or how much the guys laughed at him. Anything, fuckin’ _anything_ , was better than losing his hearing.

And then…just like that, he heard his name. He almost wanted to cry tears of joy—almost. Maybe he’d still been semi-unconscious before. He mentally kicked himself for jumping to conclusions, and all but laughed in relief.

That was, until he heard who was talking.

“There’s nothing wrong with it! I was just trying to kiss him better, that’s all.”

Holy shit. His stomach dropped down to his knees. Was that who he thought it was? …Oh, _fuck_ , it was. Jade. Dread washed over him for a moment, followed by disgust when he realized what Jade had just said. Seriously? _Kiss it better_? That was what moms did to their three year olds when they fell off the swing set at the playground. Who did Jade think he was?

Pissed off, pride thoroughly wounded, he shifted to sit up, groaning loudly as he did so because all his bones were creaking like an old man’s, and all his muscles were aching and crying for him to stop. Ignoring it, he turned his head towards Jade’s voice, still squinting.

“There’s something really fuckin’ gross about that, man.” Adam shook his head, mouth sharply curving down. “Don’t touch him, okay?” He gave Jade’s shoulder a little shove as he tried to come closer to Davey.

“It’s not gross,” Jade insisted, looking frustrated. “I just want to show him I care—make him feel better.”

“Trust me. It’s not going to make him feel better.” Adam shuddered.

“Why not?”

“Because I said.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Jade’s brow wrinkled.

“You’re kidding me. Please tell me you’re fuckin’ kidding me.” Adam stared at him, mouth slightly agape. “How could you not understand? You’re weird!”

Jade bristled, squaring his shoulders as he said indignantly, “I’m not weird. There’s nothing wrong with it.” Under his breath, he growled, “Homophobe.”

Adam slapped a hand over his own face. “Jesus,” he groaned. Then, he waved his hand in the air, forehead creasing. “All right, all right. I don’t care. I’m not gonna argue with you anymore ‘cause it’s pointless.”

Jade opened his mouth, looking like he wanted to argue but he didn’t really get the chance because Adam was already headed out the door. Davey sat up faster then, alarmed. If Adam left now, he wouldn’t have anyone to walk him home to make sure he didn’t die on his way there. Adam always walked him home, especially whenever he was sick or something. And even though he didn’t like to admit it, today he needed the company more than ever because he felt like he was going to die and needed someone to make sure he didn’t, and he needed someone to help him fend off Jade while he was still in this vulnerable state. It wasn’t like his mom could come pick him up from school either. She was working until five o’ clock. Shit.

“Dude!” he shouted, ignoring the way his head spun from the effort. “Where are you going?”

Adam turned on his heel, expression dark. “To Mark’s,” he mumbled.

“I thought you were gonna walk with me.”

“Forget it.” Adam waved it off, blowing out an annoyed breath of air. “I don’t want to babysit you or your boyfriend.”

“What the fuck?” Davey sputtered, looking from Adam to Jade. Jade was beaming at the prospect of being Davey’s boyfriend. But it made Davey feel ill. It wasn’t so much the thought of gay people as it was the thought of being with Jade. He didn’t give a shit if Jade was gay, or if Adam was gay, or, hell, if he was gay. But Jade as his—no. Not. In. A. _Million_. Years.

“Yeah, I’m not dealing with it. Bye.” Adam slammed the door behind him, gone before Davey could even protest. There were so many things wrong with what had just happened.

“Fuck!”

Davey grunted and rotated himself so his feet were on the floor. Slowly, carefully, he slipped off the couch and straightened up, head spinning and vision clouded with many multi-colored dots. That would’ve been incredibly cool if he hadn’t been in so much pain. Damn, he was so fucked up that even Jade didn’t seem quite so bad right now. It just hurt that much.

Shakily, he gathered his book bag and his skateboard, turning back towards the door. The nurse wasn’t even there at the moment, so he could take the chance get away before she came back and forced him to lie there until his mother came to collect his ass for the hospital or wherever else she wanted him to go. He didn’t want to go to the hospital. He _refused_ to go to the hospital. Fuck that shit, he would just play it off like he was okay. Taking a deep breath, he slowly inched towards the door, wincing every few seconds. Well, wasn’t that dandy? It seemed as though he’d pulled every muscle in his body, torn every damn ligament. He was certain he was covered from head to toe with bruises. Tears pricked his eyes, blurring his vision further, and he gritted his teeth.

Jade quickly moved to aid him, putting a hand on his aching elbow. Yipping at the touch, he jerked it away far too quickly, only to cause another unbearable surge of pain. All he wanted to do was crumple to the floor and curl up in a tight ball forever. He wanted to die.

“Aw, let me help you,” Jade insisted, taking his book bag from him.

“N-no,” Davey protested, trying to keep a firm grip on the strap. But Jade was currently stronger than him, and soon it’d been wrenched from his claws and slung over his new _boyfriend’s_ shoulder. Ugh.

Shuffling down the hall at a snail’s pace, Davey started to feel that maybe he was grateful for the help. He was beginning to get delirious; maybe that was why he was thankful. Though he felt like a zombie, he somehow made it out to the parking lot—and that was when things began to fall apart.

“Davey,” Jade began, stopping to face him and looking truly concerned. His hand fell on the side of Davey’s face, causing him to wince as the fingers brushed a particularly sore bruise. “Are you sure you’re gonna make it back home?”

Gritting his teeth again, he replied in a strained voice, “Yes.” Truthfully, he wasn’t sure. The short walk out here had left his head spinning even worse and he could feel his stomach lurching, threatening to empty its contents on the sidewalk. He really didn’t feel so well. The familiar sour, acidic flavor rose in his throat. He hurriedly swallowed it back.

“You don’t look okay,” Jade pointed out, playing the part of Captain Fuckin’ Obvious.

Davey glared at him. But his glare didn’t stop Jade from doing what he did next. And that was what made Davey decide that no matter how horrible he felt, there was no way in hell that he was going home with this kid. Better that he didn’t know where he lived. Because Jade leaned over and kissed him.

For a split second, Davey was too startled to do anything but stand there like a dumbfuck, letting Jade cover his lips with his own. The kiss itself wasn’t bad technically, but it was very much so bad because of who Jade was. At least he wasn’t drooling all over him and trying to shove his tongue down his throat like that stupid drunk girl Cassie had done at the party last month. That had been really gross—but that didn’t mean that this wasn’t gross too.

Groaning in pain, he tried to shove Jade off. He would’ve been more forceful about it if he’d had the strength. Still, at least Jade was courteous enough to back off. Or maybe that was because he sensed that Davey was about to throw up in his mouth.

“Leave,” Davey croaked, pointing a shaky finger in the opposite direction. He couldn’t even find the words to bitch him out for the kiss. Not only did he not have the energy but he also felt too grateful that Jade had even listened to him when he’d wanted him to stop.

Or so he thought.

“But you can’t make it back to your house, sweetie. You’re about to pass out.”

Shit. He was pretty much so right. Still, Davey was determined—and stubborn enough—to try.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, voice and body shaking. Catching Jade off guard, he snatched his backpack and shuffled towards the sidewalk, dropping his skateboard and weakly stepping onto it though his legs felt like goddamn jelly and he was sure they would cave in on him any second. Damn sick headache.

Jade didn’t make a move to follow him, and when he glanced over his shoulder, he noticed that he was retreating to the student parking lot. Fuckin’ good. But the relief was only momentary because as soon as he reached the sign of the high school, he threw up.

He spent a few painful seconds hunched over the side of the road, heaving out his insides into the decorative shrubs and sweating and shaking and feeling like he would just plain die. Coughing, sputtering, he forced himself to recover and stand up, get back on his board, try to go home. Fuck this shit. He was going to take some Tylenol when he got home, lest he truly die when his head split open and spilled bloody brains everywhere.

He’d only managed to get part of the way down the street when he heard the soft purr of a car engine. It slowed as it pulled up beside him and when he looked over he saw that Jade was driving. The window was rolled down already so he couldn’t pretend like he didn’t hear what Jade said.

“Get in. I’ll take you home.”

“No, thanks,” he said weakly. He kept skating, pretending to be fine—or at least trying to. His entire body was quaking now. It was really hard to keep his balance.

What made him feel even worse about the whole deal was that Jade followed him. “Seriously, get in. You’re hurt.”

“No,” Davey insisted, eyes trained straight ahead. He was beginning to see funky shapes again and he felt the world tilt on its axis.

“Davey, I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. Get in the car before you hurt yourself.”

“I’m fine,” Davey choked, though he felt his stomach rolling again.

In a last, desperate attempt to prove himself, to show that he was fine, to throw Jade off his tail, he kicked off harder, trying to propel himself fast enough to outrun the car. He must’ve been really fucked up and stupefied to even think he was capable of such a thing. It drained the last of his energy and he lost his balance. He collapsed to the sidewalk, grunting as he hit his head again. Well, that sure had been smart.

He was vaguely aware of the car stopping beside him, of the door slamming, of Jade hurrying to his side. Panting to keep his stomach at bay, he peeked up through his dirty hair to see Jade leaning over him. He had to admit he was actually kind of glad to see him right now—because he couldn’t move. At all.

Jade tried to pick him up but failed the first couple of times. Finally, he got a good grip and gathered enough strength to drag him, though he strained under Davey’s dead weight and barely got him into the passenger seat in time. He strapped the seat belt over him and then—much to his dismay—kissed him on the forehead, though he could only groan weakly in protest.

After Jade put his things in the trunk and got into the car, Davey wasn’t sure what happened. He must’ve given him directions or something because the trip was a blur and the next thing he knew, he was lying on his sofa with a blanket over him. Maybe he’d been wrong about him, he thought vaguely as Jade brought him a cup of ice cold water. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad dude after all.

That didn’t mean he liked him, though.


	4. Four: Oh snap! Jade puts Adam in his place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: If this comes across as insulting, it's unintentional. Hopefully, it won't, and I made my point well enough. XD;
> 
> Updating today because I can. Expect weekly updates. This thing is going to get finished. X)
> 
> Thanks to Hellion and my sister, Angel, for beta-ing!
> 
> Disclaimer: These are mere characters based on the members of AFI (not the real members, duh). I do not own; I do not make money. No disrespect, harm, or libel is intended; this never ever happened (and never will) as this is 100 percent fictitious.

Several weeks passed by and Jade became a regular part of their lives. He somehow found his way into their circle in the mornings, and then again at their table at lunch. Mark and Adam made their objections clear, but Jade completely ignored them, blowing their obvious disgust and insults off with reverse psychology or pretending like he didn’t understand or that he hadn’t heard them. Davey had to admit he was impressed by how determined he was, and how he just didn’t let _anything_ get him down. Still, he was annoying, and though he’d tolerate him at school, there was no way in hell he was going to hang out with him outside of school. Already, he’d been invited to hang out multiple times but he just kept making excuses.

Like today for example. Jade had wanted to do something after school, but he’d blown him off. Sure, after getting to know him a bit, he found that Jade wasn’t as retarded as he’d first thought he was, and he’d toned things down, but…even for a flamboyant guy, he was kind of a dork. Surely, he was losing some serious punk points just by associating with him. Well, at least he had an excuse for today. He had a play to rehearse for, which meant he really didn’t have time to hang out with anyone until evening.

Before going to the auditorium, the first thing he did was swing by the boys’ bathroom. After a quick piss, he dug through his backpack for his stage makeup. Glancing over his shoulder and seeing that no one else—or, more specifically, Mark or Adam—was in there, he unscrewed the top of his foundation and began to apply it. Then came the eyeliner, and then came the lipstick. At first he’d hated to admit it, but now he told himself he didn’t care; he liked putting on makeup. And if anyone asked? It was for Theatre. Simple as that.

Unfortunately it wasn’t as simple as he’d have liked.

He came back out into the hall and finished the short trek to the auditorium. So far, so good—no Mark or Adam. The halls were mostly empty now, with only a few stragglers—mostly cheerleaders or lacrosse players. Coming around the corner, he stopped dead in his tracks. There was a familiar figure crouched down on the floor, straightening up a stack of play fliers. He felt his mouth unhinge. Oh, hell. He hadn’t expected this. This was a little awkward.

Before he had the chance to sneak away, Jade looked up and flipped his blonde fringe out of his face, offering a dazzling smile. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Davey said hoarsely, throat suddenly dry and constricted. He didn’t know why, but he felt really embarrassed and exposed. “What are you doing here?”

Jade flipped his fringe out of his face again. Davey scrunched up his nose slightly. He’d noticed Jade had gotten into that bad habit over the past few weeks, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he truly didn’t notice it, or if he was trying to flirt or get his attention. Something told him it was the latter.

“I’m helping set things up for the play,” he replied, smile dimpling his dumb chipmunk cheeks.

Cautiously, Davey asked, “Uh, why?”

“Because I’m part of the tech team, silly.” Jade giggled and stood up, hugging the stack of fliers against his chest. Like a girl. Davey was embarrassed for him.

Brows knitting together, he began, “You do realize you look like—” Thankfully he didn’t get to finish his criticism. A loud laugh came from behind him, startling him.

“Holy shit…Are you fuckin’ serious, Dave?”

Davey turned in the direction of the scoffing voice. His heart sank down to his shoes when he saw Adam and Mark standing there, practically _leering_ at him. Glowering, he played it off cool. “What’s your fuckin’ problem?”

“Dude, you look like a _girl_ ,” Mark sneered.

“No, man, more like… _gay_ ,” Adam corrected. He turned to Mark and they exchanged a high-five.

As much as Davey didn’t want it to bother him, it did. And despite his efforts to push the insult down and keep it from stinging, it still came out in the form of a wince. Fuck. He had to think of something before he let them know how much it bothered him.

Laughing weakly, he rubbed his arm, shifting from one foot to the other. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. You guys are fuckin’ assholes.” He swallowed around the lump, forcing a grin. _Come the fuck on. Get a grip._ Lamely, he tacked on, “It’s for a play.”

“Oh, let me guess, let me guess.” Mark stepped forward, one hand outstretched. Adam hung back, covering his mouth and snickering rudely into it, shoving at Mark’s shoulder. “It’s _Romeo and Juliet_ , and you’re Juliet!” It wasn’t funny, but he and Adam busted out laughing like it was the greatest thing ever.

Davey breathed in deeply and rubbed his thumbs against his sweating palms. “No.” He tried to work the rest of it out, to tell them the real title of the play, but found himself speechless.

“Oh, you _are_ Juliet, aren’t you?” Mark guffawed. “That’s hilarious!”

“Dude,” Adam snickered, hitting Mark in the ribs with the back of his hand. “You know what Juliet had to do, right?”

They were quiet for a moment, only sharing a knowing, twinkling gaze. And then Mark replied, “She had to kiss Romeo!” They cracked up. Again.

“Okay, knock it off,” Davey muttered, heat rising to his cheeks. He couldn’t believe the nerve of his so-called-friends. Since when had they treated him this badly? They hadn’t until Jade had showed up. What the fuck?

“Seriously.” Adam’s face smoothed over, and he looked a little menacing. “Before you come over tonight, get rid of the makeup. You look like a sissy.”

Unable to help himself, he growled in the back of his throat. He’d just about had enough. In fact, he was about to snap right now. Who did they think they were talking to him like that? Before he got the chance to say something like _I’m not gonna talk to you until you stop being an ass_ , Jade was on it. He dropped the fliers and grabbed Adam by the front of the shirt—a truly bold move for someone so scrawny.

“You got a problem with girls?” He glowered, suddenly looking fierce.

Davey blinked, mouth dropping open. Was this really Jade?

Adam squirmed in his grasp. “No!”

“Then why’d you act like it was a bad thing?” Jade snapped.

“That’s not what I meant.”

Suddenly, Jade’s demeanor changed. His scowl faded into something…weird, calculating. Davey had seen that look before, and it usually meant something _uncomfortable_ was coming. Licking his lips, eyes darkening seductively, he pinned Adam against the lockers with his body. Davey and Mark stared.

“If you have a problem with girls, maybe you like boys, then?” Jade said all too innocently, blinking his large, doe eyes. Davey cringed. Boy, was he glad he wasn’t in Adam’s shoes.

“No! I’m not gay!”

Jade grabbed Adam’s jaw and dug his nails in the skin of his cheek, forcing him to look into his eyes. In a low, purring voice, he asked, “What’s wrong with that?”

“It’s just kind of gro—”

“Sweetie,” Jade cut him off, “Don’t deny it until you try it.”

With that, he pressed his face into Adam’s, and crushed their mouths together in a breath-taking, bruising kiss. Where did he even _get_ this stuff? Davey felt his eyes practically bug out of his head, and a quick glance at Mark showed that he was just as shocked. Goddamn, he felt uncomfortable just watching it. Obviously, Mark did too because he was gone before it even ended, probably not wanting to be Jade’s next victim. And he was wise to do so, though it honestly didn’t look like Jade was going to be done with Adam for some while.

For the moment, Adam was frozen in horror, arms outstretched to either side of him like he was trying to keep his balance, blue eyes wide in terror. He made a small, helpless muffled sound against Jade’s mouth, but he was not granted mercy. Instead, Jade pressed their hips together and craned his neck more to the side, opening his mouth wider to take in Adam’s lips. He opened and closed his mouth against Adam’s for what felt like forever, hands beginning to run through his hair and rake against his scalp, hips forcefully grinding against his. Despite himself, Davey was beginning to feel a little feverish watching it. No, it didn’t turn him on. It just _didn’t_. That was weird Jade and fuckin’ Adam, his two goofy, stupid friends. Wait…Jade was his friend now? No. Just. No. The point was—it felt wrong to think about them like that.

Finally, fuckin’ _finally_ , Adam threw Jade off of him, shuddering unpleasantly and wiping his mouth on his arm. He shot Jade an angry, disdainful look. And as he opened his mouth to speak, Jade shook his head and dropped a finger to his lips.

“Shhh, honey, don’t say a word.”

What the fuck? Now Davey felt nauseous. Fuckin’ dumb. His half-boner was quickly disappearing. Deep inside, he also felt the smallest twinge of jealousy. He might not have liked Jade like that, but damn it, Jade was _his_ admirer, and Jade was _his_ creep! Deciding this had gone on long enough, he intervened.

He coughed, clapping a hand on Jade’s shoulder and gently pulling him back. “Don’t you have to put those up?” He pointed to the fliers that were scattered all over the floor.

For a moment, Jade blinked in dazed confusion. Then, he nodded. “Oh, yeah.”

Davey blew out a long breath of _relief_ when he stepped back and bent down to pick the papers up. But his relief was short-lived because Jade stuck his ass out at Adam and peeked over his shoulder, giving him a little wink. Adam didn’t stick around. He tore down that hall as fast as his legs could take him. And then Davey looked at Jade, and Jade looked back at him, and, the next thing he knew, they were both laughing. Jade crumpled to the floor, in tears, rendered completely helpless in a fetal position. Davey was right next to him, tears of his own rolling down his face.

Lifting his head, Davey told him, “Dude, that was fuckin’ great.”

“Gimme some skin,” Jade said.

For a moment, Davey balked. He eyed Jade warily, unsure. “What do you…?”

In response, Jade held out his hand. “Slap it, silly.”

Rolling his eyes, Davey humored him. After all, he had just stuck up for him at the risk of being humiliated himself. And fuck knew what would happen to him now. Even if he was still a little wary, Davey knew that if it came down to it, he’d stand up for Jade too. Fuckin’ Mark and Adam. They could go sit around and smoke and fuck at the skate park all day. Until they realized what royal asswads they were, he wasn’t going to have a thing to do with them. At least he had an ally.

“You better go in there,” Jade finally said, wiping a stray drop from his eye, grin still spread across his face. “They started ten minutes ago.”

“ _Shit_ ,” Davey hissed, jumping to his feet. He nearly slipped on one of the fliers, but Jade caught him by the elbow.

“Careful, sweetie,” he teased, eyes glittering mischievously.

Shrugging him off, Davey muttered awkwardly, “Yeah, um, thanks.” He paused, rubbing his elbow. “For, you know, everything.”

Jade only smiled and gave his ass a sharp smack. “Just go.”

A weak smile twitched on Davey’s lips, and he headed back towards the double doors. Forget that Jade had just touched—and was now staring at—his ass. Even though it made his stomach roll, he’d let it slide this once. Just because he’d helped him out. He couldn’t deny that he felt a lot better now.


	5. Five: Jade finally pops the question

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: These are mere characters based on the members of AFI (not the real members, duh). I do not own; I do not make money. No disrespect, harm, or libel is intended; this never ever happened (and never will) as this is 100 percent fictitious.

It wasn’t until the following Wednesday at lunch that Davey had to face Adam again. Adam had been avoiding him like the plague, though he wasn’t sure why because he hadn’t had anything to do with what’d happened and Jade hadn't been hanging around him either; he'd been absent for the past three days. It didn’t really matter what his reasons were; Davey convinced himself he was glad to be left alone.

But sweet solitude didn’t last. He was in the middle of his chicken sandwich when he felt a heavy hand clap on his shoulder and he turned to face Adam’s angry stare. Impulsively, he tried to talk but it only came out as an impolite mumble, pieces of half-chewed, soggy bread spewing from his mouth.

“Dude, what’s your problem?”

Grimacing, Adam wiped the blob from just under his eye. “What’s my problem?” he scoffed. “Are you kidding me?” He shot him an icy glare.

Recoiling a bit, Davey asked, “Um, what are you talking about?”

“Fuck, Dave,” Adam swore. “Are you really that stupid?” When he received no reply, he shook his head and continued. “You let your pet make me look like a dumbfuck.”

Davey frowned. “Don’t blame me for that. He chose to do it, not me.” He stopped but Adam didn’t say anything, so he added in a mumbled tone, “Besides that was last week. Don’t know why you’re bringing it up now.”

“Whatever.” Adam snorted. “Just keep him away from me.” Groaning, he sank down into the seat next to him. Davey only edged away, still pissed off. But Adam remained oblivious and kept talking. “Where is that stupid fuck anyway?”

“I don’t know,” Davey muttered, exasperated. “I don’t care.” He hunched over his sandwich, concentrating on staring at it instead of Adam. He refused to look at him for even a fraction of a second.

Adam didn’t reply. Instead, he drummed his fingers on his Chemistry textbook and stared at the painted cinderblock wall in front of him. Several moments passed by in which neither spoke. Davey wasn’t going to be the next to talk. He stuffed as much food he could hold in his mouth just for an excuse not to say anything. Finally, Adam caught on.

“What’s wrong with you?” Davey didn’t look at him, but judging by how annoyed he sounded, he figured his eyebrows were knit together in a scowl.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Davey grunted as best as he could through his mouthful.

“Then why are you fuckin’ ignoring me?”

This brought Davey’s dark, angry stare to him. He sighed heavily through his nose and slapped his sandwich down on its silver foil wrapper, wiping his greasy hands on his jeans. “I’ll tell you. You’re a fuckin’ douche.”

“What the fuck?” Adam’s mouth gaped like a stupid fish. “What’d I do to you?”

“Oh, come on,” Davey said, picking at his bread. “You’ve been acting like an asshole for days. What the fuck is your problem?”

“I’m not doin’ anything wrong,” Adam insisted, clenching his fists. “You’re just being a pussy.”

“You know what?” Davey turned in his seat to face him, resentment bubbling up like hot lava. “Don’t talk to me right now.”

“What the fuck?”

Davey turned back around, facing the front. He didn’t need to say anything more. For a moment, Adam stayed put, still, watching him in dumbstruck silence. A minute elapsed, and then he grabbed his textbook and dragged it off the table, slowly getting to his feet.

“Geez,” he grumbled. “Worse than a fuckin’ girl.” He slunk away, shooting Davey these weird, sharp glances from over his shoulder. What a fuckin’ moron.

Finally. Now he could eat his meal in peace. At least that was what he thought.

Of all the people who could’ve disturbed him next, he certainly wasn’t expecting it to be _Jade_. After all, he hadn’t seen him around the halls that morning so he’d just assumed he wasn’t at school. But the second he heard that familiar, cheerful greeting of “Hi, Davey!” he knew who it was. Next thing he saw were two big, brown eyes peering and blinking into his own, large smile making his dumb chipmunk cheeks look ever bigger.

“Hi, Davey,” Jade said again as though he hadn’t heard him the first time. He was all out of breath, and it made Davey wonder if he’d run all the way to the cafeteria just to see him or something.

“Um, hi,” he muttered his response, tilting his head down to conceal his identity. He didn’t want anyone he knew to see him talking to Jade.

“So, what’re you doing?”

“Nothing. Eating.” For the first time, he glanced at Jade’s tray. Wilted salad. Appetizing.

“What’re you eating?” Jade asked, determined to keep the conversation going.

“Chicken sandwich.”

Suddenly, Jade’s smile melted. His eyes widened and his face paled. Lips trembling, worry lines creasing his forehead, he whispered, “You’re…You’re eating a dead animal.”

At first, Davey thought he was kidding and laughed. But when Jade stared at him as though he were crazy, truly horrified, his amusement faded. “Yeah. Got a problem?” He was trying to sound tough, but his voice wavered.

“Don’t you understand, Davey?” Jade rambled, eyes looking glassy. He paused to rummage through his backpack, and produced a three inch binder—the sort Davey used for Ms. Mandella’s English class. Slamming it on the table hard enough for the girl next to him to shoot a dirty look, Jade leaned over into Davey’s space, and then cracked it open. “That ‘sandwich’ was once a living _being_. You’re eating _flesh_. A corpse. Gross, isn’t it?”

“Um, not really.” Despite his words, Davey was beginning to feel a small twinge of worry in the pit of his stomach. He hadn’t really thought of it like that. Sure, he knew that chickens were animals and were alive and stuff, but he hadn’t really given much thought to the transition from the henhouse to his plate.

“Not really?” Jade all but shrieked, causing him to jump. “That poor little bird _died_ for you! Have you no compassion?” Now tears were filling his sappy brown eyes, threatening to spill over. Though it was ridiculous, Davey began to feel awkward and sympathetic. And disgusted. Very disgusted. He wasn’t sure _what_ he was disgusted about though, so he just projected it all on Jade’s behavior.

Seeing he wasn’t getting a reaction other than a deadpan stare, Jade flipped through his binder until he found an article with several black-and-white photos. Triumphant, he pressed a finger to the first one. “Look.”

When Davey did, his lunch almost came back up. Feeling sort of like the wilted lettuce in Jade’s salad, he took the binder in trembling hands, unable to tear his eyes away from the bloody, gory atrocity. Before he had time to think, the words were spilling from his lips. “Oh my God…” It was all he could say.

“Do you understand now, Davey?” Jade pressed, looking sincere. He dropped a hand to his arm and squeezed it, lips trembling. “I’m sorry you had to see that but it’s the only way. It’s the only way to save you, and them. Please,” Here, he paused dramatically. “For their sake. For your own sake. Don’t eat that.” Giving his arm a final pat, he sank back to his side of the table and calmly began to eat his salad.

And Davey couldn’t stop staring. The picture seemed to be zooming in, getting closer and closer, closing in on the dangling entrails and the lifeless eye, and forever imprinting itself on his young, vulnerable mind. For fuck’s sake, what if that was someone’s pet? The realization hit him hard in the gut, and he suddenly dropped the binder to the tabletop. Nauseated, he discreetly spit the remaining mouthful of sandwich into his napkin. Suddenly, he didn’t like chicken so much anymore. Maybe he should go vegetarian.

He finished his lunch with a heart-clogging pile of fries.

\--

He’d thought his daily dose of torment was finally over, but he was once again proven wrong.

He was just minding his own business, sitting in English class when he saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. Bored, he glanced over, then had to do a double take. There, standing out on the front lawn, was Jade. What was he doing out there? Was he skipping? For a brief moment, Davey felt his jaw drop part of the way open, gum nearly falling out. Whoa. Jade _was_ skipping. And he was flaunting his badassery right in front of the school! For everyone to see! He envied the punkness of the move. Hell, even _Mark_ wasn’t ballsy enough to do that yet.

His admiration quickly faded as Jade’s face broke out into an ear-splitting grin, skinny, pale arms waving furiously. Oh, so he’d noticed him watching. Davey shifted uncomfortably and looked away. Now he wasn’t sure if Jade’s move was genius or stupid. Whatever it was, he was beginning to think that the motives behind it were less than punk. More along the lines of dork.

Shaking his head, he turned to face the front of the class. Ms. Mandella was going on and on about five paragraph essays and PRO. Not exactly the most exciting thing in the world, but it gave him something to focus on that _wasn’t_ Jade. He should’ve known it wouldn’t last, should’ve known Jade wouldn’t take no for an answer.

A moment later, he heard a scratching, tapping sound on the glass. For whatever reason, his classmates were just so fuckin’ _fascinated_ with Ms. Mandella’s explanation of using personal experiences in their essays that they didn’t notice. Davey, on the other hand, jerked his head in Jade’s direction, narrowing his eyes. Jade was standing behind the bushes just on the other side, and had a notebook propped open on his knee. He was hurriedly scribbling something on it, and then he tore the paper out, slapping it against the glass.

Davey had to squint and lean forward to read it. When he did though, he nearly had a heart attack.

_Will you go out with me?_

Oh shit oh shit oh shit. He’d thought they’d gotten past that. Oh shit. Oh fuck. Oh shit. Gripping the desktop until his knuckles turned white, he briefly shook his head and turned back to the front, mortified. This must’ve been how Jade felt when he was eating that chicken sandwich. Horrified. Nauseated. Disgusted.

Insistently, Jade tapped on the glass again, trying to press the paper closer. Out of his peripheral vision, Davey could see the distressed, desperate expression on his face. He was mouthing something, but Davey didn’t look to see what it was. He just pretended to be fascinated with the vocabulary list lying on his desk. He’d never dreaded the end of class before, but now he did more than he’d ever dreaded anything.

Jade disappeared from the window after several more failed attempts to get Davey’s attention, and he was momentarily relieved. Until Ms. Mandella passed out their homework sheets. And then the bell rang. Suddenly, Davey’s stomach pooled down to his Converse. Balking, he stayed put in his desk until all the other kids had scrambled and filed out of the classroom. He considered just staying there but Ms. Mandella was giving him a weird look. Begrudgingly, he hauled his backpack up and trudged out of the room, head hung low as though he were on his way to death row. Because he knew who he was going to run into as soon as he left the safety of the classroom. And what was worse? He was right.

“Davey!” Jade caught his arm as he rounded the corner, puppy-dog eyes drooping and sappy and pleading as ever. “Did ya read my note?”

Grimacing, Davey replied, “Yeah.”

“Well?” He blinked, smiling hopefully, glowing.

Davey sent him a dark, resentful glance. “Well what?”

“Will you go out with me?” Jade asked boldly, chest puffing in confidence.

“What?”

Sighing, Jade rolled his eyes. “Will you be my boyfriend? Silly.”

Now there was no escaping it. Davey swallowed the lump down as far as it would go and blinked, staring at Jade because he couldn’t look away, staring at Jade because _he_ wouldn’t go away. His stomach twisted, anxiety fluttering sickly like a thousand butterflies, and the words tumbled from his mouth before he even had a chance to think about them. It didn’t matter. The answer would’ve been the same even if he had thought before he spoke. “No.”

It took a moment to register but when it did a look of utmost disappointment and _despair_ shadowed Jade’s face. “No?” He bit his lip, looking crushed. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Davey grunted, throwing Jade’s hand from his arm and heading for his locker.

Jade tagged behind him, just not taking the damn hint. “Don’t you want to even a little bit?”

“Nope.”

“How about going on one little date?”

“No.”

“What about a little kiss?” Jade wiggled his eyebrows, grinning.

Scowling, Davey yanked his coat from his locker, then slammed the door shut loud enough to resonate in the narrow hall. “ _No_.”

“What about—”

“Whatever it is, no. Now will you just let me go home?” Davey had had enough of this bullshit. Even if Jade tried to get him to stick around, he wouldn’t. He couldn’t force him, after all. Already, Davey was headed towards the exit.

Of course Jade followed like a little, lost puppy. A _dumb_ little, lost puppy. “Well, if you ever change your mind let me know.” He bit his lip, eyes (somehow) wider and more desperate than before. But beneath that innocent angel-eyed façade, there was an evil, determined gleam in his eyes, and Davey _knew_ he wasn’t going to give up.

Still, he grumbled, “I don’t think so.” Pausing, he pushed through the front doors and, just before they shut in Jade’s dumb face, he told him, “Bye.”

And that was that, he told himself. He wouldn’t put up with it and he wasn’t going to listen to it anymore. Though, knowing Jade, he wouldn’t give up and he’d keep trying to woo him until he finally cracked. But that wasn’t going to happen. There had to be some way out of this.

It wasn’t until he’d skated halfway down the street that the idea struck him, and it was so painfully, obviously brilliant that he couldn’t help but shout out loud. “Well, _duh_!” What was he thinking? If he wanted Jade off his ass, he’d just become unavailable. If he was already dating someone, then Jade would have to back off. After all, he’d shown he had some respect for Davey; he was just dense. It was foolproof. So he made up his mind.

Tomorrow, he was gonna get a girlfriend.


	6. Six: Girls who are boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to update weeks ago, but I've been busy with school. And I really should be writing my research paper right now but I've spent the last two days slaughtering myself over school. So I did the irresponsible thing and decided to write instead. I'll warn that this chapter has het in it, but it's the only chapter that will. And you might be pleased with what happens because of it. ;) Oh, and I mean no offense to anyone with the contents of this chapter, nor am I implying that het or girls are gross, just to get that fact straight.
> 
> Disclaimer: These are mere characters based on the members of AFI (not the real members, duh). I do not own; I do not make money. No disrespect, harm, or libel is intended; this never ever happened (and never will) as this is 100 percent fictitious.
> 
> Syd, however, is most unfortunately mine.

Davey made sure to get to school extra early the following day. Part of him had already forgiven Mark and Adam, though maybe it was just because he needed some help brainstorming. Ever since he’d made the decision to find a temporary girlfriend, he’d been thinking about who he could choose, who he could trust. After all, he wasn’t a big enough douche to just ask her and lead her on. She’d have to know what was going on and agree to it. Oh, and she’d have to be the type that wouldn’t drag his reputation down or anything. Even when it came to a stand-in, Davey had his standards.

The problem was finding such a girl. He had a few off-on friends and acquaintances, but he wasn’t sure if he could trust any of them or not. Plus, Mark and Adam had already dated a lot of their acquaintances, and he really wasn’t sure how they’d take it. So he had no choice but to talk to them.

He found them at the usual spot in the cafeteria. They were both hunched over something, something that they quickly shoved under an English textbook when they saw Davey coming up. Raising an eyebrow, he slid into the seat opposite them. They didn’t say anything, so he started the conversation.

“I need to ask you guys somethin’.”

“What do you want?” Mark asked, slightly annoyed.

Davey decided to cut right to the chase; he didn’t want to waste his time making small talk with them. Face burning, he mumbled, “I, uh, need a girlfriend.”

Adam snickered. “Yeah, you do. Why’re you telling us though?”

Swallowing hard, Davey drummed his fingers on the table, tried to push down the anxiety. “I need help finding one,” he mumbled. “I thought maybe you guys knew of someone.”

Mark scowled. “Can’t you get one on your own? Fuckin’ lame.”

“It’s not like that!” Davey protested, feeling more flustered and embarrassed by the second. “I got to throw Jade off my ass, so I got to find a girl who’ll pretend to date me. Do you guys know anybody like that?”

Mark snorted. “There’s tons of girls like _that_.” Something in his eyes told Davey they weren’t on the same page. But before he could protest, Mark continued. “I can hook you up though. There’s this girl from my history class who’s pretty cool. We can talk to her right now if you want.”

“Uh…” Davey shifted, unsure. “I dunno.”

“Hey, _you_ wanted this,” Mark reminded him, standing. “Are you gonna come or not?” He raised an eyebrow, silently judging Davey, silently asking him what the fuck was wrong with him. And he guessed there must be something wrong with him to not want to go, or maybe that was just because he knew what sorts of girls Mark knew, and realized how fucking stupid he’d been to ask him for help. Well, there went his reputation.

At this point, he was close to saying _forget it_ but then Adam smirked at him, mouthing the one word that changed his mind— _gay_. His eyes were laughing at him, and he just couldn’t stand it. He had to prove that it wasn’t like that and the only way he could was if he had a girlfriend and kept pushing Jade away. Part of him felt a twinge of guilt because it wasn’t right to push Jade away even as a friend just because he was stupid and scared of what Mark and Adam thought. Momentarily, he was ashamed of himself. But he didn’t have the time to dwell on it because Mark grabbed his arm and dragged him out of his seat.

“Come on, dude. I’m your friend, and friends don’t let friends look gay.”

“B-but—”

“Man, I’m doing you a _favor_ ,” Mark grumbled. “You don’t have to be so _grateful_ , you know.”

Somehow, that shut him up. He threw a glance over his shoulder at Adam, who’d already pulled a magazine out from under his textbook. Before he had time to hide it, Davey caught a glimpse of a scantily clad woman on the front. Typical.

They hurried out the side door. Cold, winter air hit them the moment they stepped outside and Davey sorely regretted wearing nothing but a baggy black T-shirt. He wanted to turn around for several different reasons but Mark kept a tight, painful hold on his elbow. Grimacing, he followed him down the paved walkway and around the corner, where a group of tough looking kids hung by the chain link fence. They all glanced up at the newcomers, and Davey felt slightly uncomfortable. These kids were a level above him on the punk scale; they were the type no one wanted to mess with. Suddenly, he _really_ didn’t feel so hot about this idea.

Despite his discomfort, he sucked it up and pretended to be cool with it, pretended to fit right in. Mark was already strutting around with his chest puffed out. It was actually kind of ridiculous and Davey had the feeling that, if these kids weren’t so hardcore, they’d be laughing at them by now. He sagged, and Mark all but shoved him towards a girl and a guy huddled against the brick wall.

Grabbing Davey and tugging him closer, Mark gestured to the girl in the tattered, black sweatshirt. “That’s Sydney Wilson. But call her Syd. She’s the girl I told you about.”

Uneasy, Davey looked her over, noticing her do the same to him, only with a sharper, more scrutinizing gaze. As his eyes moved down from hers, the first thing he noticed was the cigarette clutched between two fingers. Immediately, he turned to Mark, and said softly, hoarsely, “Um, no. I can’t do this.”

“Why not?” Mark looked irritated.

“She smokes!” he hissed, narrowing his eyes.

Huffing, annoyed, Mark said, “Can’t you just fucking get over it? It’s not a big deal. Everyone smokes.”

“But I—”

“Get the fuck over it.” Mark shoved him towards her, then spoke louder. “Hey, Syd. This is my friend, Davey.”

Davey winced and shot Mark a dirty look, which was returned. He looked back to Syd, who hadn’t said anything in return, instead choosing to stare at him blankly while taking a long drag of her cigarette. Feeling more awkward and stupider by the second, he scuffed at some dirt, making patterns with his shoe, and mumbled, “Uh, hey.”

A moment passed. She silently blew out a cloud of wispy, gray smoke. Then, she crushed her cigarette against the concrete, frowning. “What do you want, Mark?”

If her stare hadn’t been incriminating and awkward enough, being completely ignored felt ten times worse. Despite his immediate distaste for her, he was starting to feel like _he_ was the one who wasn’t good enough for _her_. And it really sucked. He was overwhelmed by the need to prove to her that he was, too, good enough, and he was, too, tougher and punker than he looked. Jutting his chin out, trying his best to look defiant, he stared down at her, trying to match her attitude. He only ended up feeling stupid.

“Uh…” Mark crouched down by her, glancing back at Davey. “Actually, all I want is a fuckin’ cigarette. Davey’s the one who needs your help.”

“Really?” She paused, brushing her brown-black hair out of her face. As she dug another cigarette out of her pack, she surveyed Davey, painted lips tugged in disdain. “What do you want, kid?”

Feeling indignant, he grumbled under his breath, “I’m not a fuckin’ kid.” Her lips quirked up in a little smile at this, and he realized she’d just been messing with him. Uncertain, he followed Mark’s example and crouched down on the ground, lowering his voice but still getting a look from the scruffy guy next to her. “I have this guy after me and he won’t leave me alone. I need a fake girlfriend to throw him off.” He paused, trying to gauge her expression. She was still looking him in the eyes, which was a good sign, but then she bit down on her lip, smothered a laugh. Annoyed but none the less determined, he asked, “Think you could pretend to be my girlfriend for awhile?”

“Well.” She laughed, shaking her head. “That’s not usually how I get ‘em.” Turning to Mark, she asked, “Sure this guy’s legit?”

“I’ve been friends with him for a few years. Yeah, he’s legit.”

Confused, Davey bit back the question. Maybe he didn’t want to know. But Syd looked back up at him again, expression unreadable as she lit another cigarette. “Sure. I’ll do it.” She paused, taking another drag. “It’ll cost you though.”

“What?” Davey jerked his head in Mark’s direction to catch sight of a wolfish grin. What sort of girl was she, anyway? He was beginning to get the feeling that she _really_ wasn’t the type he should be messing with. And, judging by the smirk on scruffy guy’s face, he was right. “What’s that mean?”

“You gotta pay me,” she said, grinning crookedly. “It might fuck up my cred to be seen with you. At least gimme something to show for it.”

He should’ve said no. He would’ve said no right there—if it hadn’t been for Mark’s wicked smirk as he mouthed _don’t want to be gay, do you_? Davey didn’t even know _why_ it had to matter. But something in his gut twisted and churned, and he remembered Jade, and he remembered his mission. He had to stick with the mission—right? Still, something deep inside told him maybe it would be better to deal with Jade because at least Jade wasn’t a scumbag, and at least Jade was decent. _Right_?

His hesitation cost him. It was too late. The next thing he knew, Syd was twisting his arm and telling him, “Pay up. I don’t do anything until I see the money.”

Caught off guard, he glanced at Mark for any sort of help, but that was a dumb idea because of course he wasn’t going to get assurance from him. Stuck, cornered, and not knowing what else to do, he forked over five bucks, hoping it’d be enough.

It was. Looking pleased, she stuffed the money in her shirt—in her bra, he figured, blushing. Then, she shoved him away. “Meet me in front of the school after the final bell.”

He could only nod feebly, watching her sink back down to her spot. Mark scrambled to his feet, brushing the dirt off the seat of his jeans. He muttered something in Syd’s ear—which she giggled at—and then, much to Davey’s horror, he _groped_ her right there. He had a sinking feeling what those two going to be doing later. Shuddering, he mumbled a brief thanks under his breath, then scurried back inside the school.

\--

The longer classes went on, the more he regretted the decision. Part of him wanted to call it off but then he’d be back to square one, and Mark would probably tell everyone he was gay because he’d turned Syd down, turned down the opportunity to get laid. Part of him said to just go through with it for a few days and let it be that. No matter what, his reputation was toast. And by the end of the day, he still wasn’t sure what to do but fulfill the obligation because, fuck it, he’d already spent the five bucks. He felt so fuckin’ dumb as he made his way out to the front of the school, wishing with every step he _hadn’t_ made that stupid deal, that he _hadn’t_ gone to Mark and Adam about this.

He half hoped she wouldn’t show, but when he came out, he spotted her by the sidewalk. She sent him a sideways glance and he trudged over, feeling a thousand creepy-crawlies running over his skin. Normally, he wouldn’t be caught dead around such a person. He wanted to run, or hide, or something. Why couldn’t he just have had the balls to ask the pretty brunette one seat over in Psychology? Why’d he have to be such a dumbfuck? This was the worst idea he’d _ever_ had.

“Hey,” he grumbled, only because it was polite, only because he had to. Just like earlier, she refused to return the greeting. Instead, she focused on lighting the cigarette hanging between her lips. Astonished, he said in a low voice, “Maybe you shouldn’t do that right now. The principal might catch you.” This was just an excuse. In reality, he just wanted her to stop smoking like a goddamn chimney.

“Fuck ‘im,” she muttered, exhaling in Davey’s direction. He squeezed his eyes shut and shuddered. “I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks. If they have a problem, they can shove it up their ass.”

“Yeah, well, you might get arrested,” Davey said, though he wasn’t sure if she really _would_ get arrested for smoking. Did kids get arrested for smoking underage? They got in trouble for _drinking_ underage. Still, she didn’t seem too concerned, so maybe they didn’t.

He didn’t have the chance to really think about it anymore though because he caught sight of Jade coming out of the building. Half of him felt a flutter of relief and half of him felt a sincere flutter of dread. Though, at this point, he wasn’t sure _what_ he dreaded. He soon found out what it was because Syd spoke in his ear, voice low and husky, slender hand running from his chest to his thigh.

“Is that him?”

Shuddering unpleasantly, he flinched away, quietly mumbling, “Yeah.” He made the mistake of looking up, of catching Jade’s eye. For a moment, Jade’s lips parted like he wanted to say something, though his eyes were confused, questioning. And then two things happened at once.

With cigarette still in hand, Syd grabbed Davey and smashed him up against her, forcing her mouth on his in an exaggerated movie-star kiss. Then, her hand made its way from his thigh to his crotch and squeezed, and he felt so wrong and violated. The taste of smoke and ash overwhelmed him and she wouldn’t stop trying to touch him; he just wanted to jerk away—but her grip proved to be too tight.

When her tongue went down his throat and her hand slipped into his pants, he just couldn’t stand it anymore. The shock dissipated and he automatically threw her off. It was already too late because, when he glanced up, several students were staring, open-mouthed, and Jade was nowhere in sight. A wave of guilt and self-loathing crept over him. He was such a horrible person. He couldn’t even find the words to speak, to tell Syd what he really thought. Instead, he turned around and tried to walk away; however, she grabbed him by the back of the shirt.

“You’re not getting away that easily,” she told him, scowling. Her lips curled a little, and he found himself staring at them, cowering, half-wondering if she’d eat him alive because she really looked like she would. “That’s another five bucks.”

His stomach sank, and he managed to sputter, “What?”

Sighing angrily, she informed him, “It was public. PDA is extra.”

“Are you fuckin’ _kidding_ me?”

Her glare told him she wasn’t kidding. “Look, Dave, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. I may not be able to cream you, but I know people. Pay up and you get to keep your dick.”

Snorting, though secretly intimidated, he dug through his pockets. All he could come up with was a dollar and thirty cents. “I’ll pay you back tomorrow, promise.”

“Swear it,” she said, snatching the cash.

“I swear. Now can I please just go?” It came out whinier than he’d intended.

“Fine.” She released him. Immediately, he headed down the sidewalk, intending to get home as fast as he could so he could wash his mouth out. Didn’t know what sort of disease he could get, after all. He didn’t stop even when she called after him. “You’d better have it. You know what’ll happen if you don’t.”

He shuddered again and dropped his skateboard to the ground, shoving off with additional vigor. Holy fuck. What had he gotten himself into? Now he not only had to get Jade off his ass, but her too. Fuck. He didn’t know what he was going to do, and he hated himself for getting into such a mess, but he hated Mark more. He was going to _kill_ him tomorrow. All along, the little shit probably knew this would happen. Davey swore he’d never ask for his help again.


	7. Seven: Davey only wants what he can't have

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I've had a tough week so I'm afraid to say the update's a little short. ^^; Anyway, there are only two more chapters after this, which is good because I'm running out of steam.
> 
> Disclaimer: These are mere characters based on the members of AFI (not the real members, duh). I do not own; I do not make money. No disrespect, harm, or libel is intended; this never ever happened (and never will) as this is 100 percent fictitious.

Regardless of what anyone might have told Davey about skipping class and hiding in the boys' bathroom being cool, he didn't believe it. Maybe that was because he'd spent the last forty-five minutes trapped in a stall, knees pulled up to his chest, instead of doing something badass, like spraying graffiti on the walls or having sex. It was far from glamorous. The floor was dirty and coated in something...sticky and unpleasant. He didn't even want to think about what _that_ was. Some guy had really stunk up the stall next to him, and now he was silently suffering the after effects. He had to keep reminding himself _why_ he was even in here in the first place. Syd's face flashed through his mind and he shuddered, curling further into himself and wrapping his arms tighter around his legs, burying his face in the worn knees of his jeans.

Even though he'd paid her off that morning, she hadn't left him alone. Every time he'd gone to his locker or turned a corner or bent over for a drink of water from the water fountain, _she was there._ Waiting. With a toothy grin like a crocodile. She kept trying to touch him, kept trying to get more money out of him. And the last straw had been when she'd tried to drag him into an empty classroom for a little “fun.” He wasn't sure whether or not she actually liked him at all, but if he had to guess, it was probably a big _no_. For all he knew, with the way her eyes were always laughing at him and mocking him, it was all to make him uncomfortable while reaping the benefit of his lunch money. He shuddered again.

The growl of his lonely stomach brought him back to the present. Miserably, he shifted and tried not to think about how hungry he was, how damp and stifling the bathroom was, how the stench closed in on him by the minute. His stomach growled again and, as a growing teenage boy, he realized he _couldn't_ hold out for the rest of the day hiding in the bathroom. It was fuckin' suicide.

The first thing he did was stick his head out into the hall, peering both ways to check for either Syd or Jade. Coast was clear. Cautiously, he crept out and all but tip-toed towards the cafeteria, shoes squeaking horribly on the freshly mopped linoleum. He breathed a sigh of relief once he'd slipped past the danger zones—where he might be caught by a teacher—and melded with the crowd of loud-mouthed kids loitering in the cafeteria. He kept near the wall, on the side opposite where he usually sat, and waited for a group of kids to pass by so he could sort of hang beside them, unnoticed, and get in line.

It didn't work.

The moment he tried to discreetly join the school, he caught sight of a familiar bobbing brown and blonde head. Inwardly, he cringed, toes curling. That head didn't turn in his direction though—not yet anyway. But upon second look, Davey realized why; he wasn't alone. Curious, Davey glanced over again, edging just a little closer. He gasped. There, sitting next to Jade, was Adam. And Jade was leaning over in his space. And touching him. Not just casual touching— _touching_ touching. Worse, Adam didn't seem to be objecting, which was more than just confusing. A cold chill swept over him, like he'd stepped right out into the Arctic circle completely naked.

Grumbling, “whatever” under his breath and trying not to feel sullen, he jammed his hands in his pockets and came closer to the front of the line. He couldn't stop looking over though, even after he’d paid for his lunch. The worst part was when Jade's eyes finally came up to meet his, and he had this _look_ on his face. Davey's stomach sank. Oh, shit. Now he understood. He should've been happy, but he wasn't. In fact, he felt a little forlorn, almost like this was the _last_ thing he'd ever wanted, and it really didn't make much sense to him.

He snatched his sandwich and lowered his head, hurrying to mingle with the crowd once more. But he wasn't fast enough, and his eyes refused to be obedient. As he slipped past the waves and groups and never-ending rows of yellowed table-tops, he was the unfortunate witness to a most unwanted sight; Jade leaned over and kissed Adam on the cheek. Then, Jade looked up and met his eyes, and Davey inwardly died.

Jade's smug gaze continued to haunt Davey all throughout the rest of the lunch period, spilling over into third block. He didn't know why it affected him so badly or why his stomach clenched and twisted every time he thought about Jade with... _Adam_. The only thing he could figure was jealousy because Jade was _his_ creep, though it could also have been because Adam wasn't very nice and, despite his issues with Jade, he didn't want him to get hurt. Something about him seemed far too naïve and maybe even a bit innocent, whereas Adam was...Adam. Vaguely, he wondered if he should try to talk to either of them, but it only served to make his stomach hurt worse.

He didn't need to seek them out though. Mark sidled up to him during class change, textbook clutched under an arm and angry, dark frown furrowing his brow. Instinctively, Davey lowered his head, as though trying to hide; stupidly, he even raised his own book to cover his face. It didn't work.

“What the fuck did you do to Adam?”

It was more than a little weird but, nevertheless, the icy edge was enough to make Davey look up. Sheepishness gave way to indignation. “What're you _talking_ about?”

Narrowing his eyes, Mark snapped, “Your gay rubbed off on him.” When Davey continued to gawk at him, confused and scowling, he sighed and continued. “He's dating Jade.”

Davey felt his heart leap in his throat, and he gasped loud enough to be heard over the roar of the surrounding students. The fuck? He broke out into a cold sweat. “What?” he shrieked.

“Yeah!” Mark threw his hands up in the air, then let them fall back to his sides. He did _not_ look happy. Actually, he looked like he was close to tearing Davey’s head off with his teeth. “Seriously, how much did you pay him to do that shit?”

“I didn't do anything,” Davey protested, biting down on his lower lip. His frown deepened. “Are you sure this isn't a joke?”

“I dunno. But our reputations are toast because everyone's saying they're dating. Including Jade,” Mark grumbled.

Davey's blood ran cold. “You're serious.” He licked his lips, eyes darting about nervously.

“Dead serious,” Mark replied, tightening his jaw.

Davey stared down at the dirty floor, unsure of what to say. All he managed was a half-hearted, “Wow.”

There was a brief moment of silence. Then: “I swear, dude, if you had _anything_ to do with this...”

“I didn't _do_ anything,” Davey insisted again. “Do you think I could convince Adam to date Jade? Even as a joke?” He shook his head.

Mark opened his mouth to protest, but the warning bell rang, putting a swift end to their conversation. Muttering under his breath, Mark shoved past Davey, shouldering him sharply. Davey glared at his retreating back and headed towards the auditorium and Theatre class, more than slightly disgruntled. What a _terrific_ way to end his already crappy ass day. Stupid Mark. Stupid Adam. Stupid _Jade_.

Shaking, he slipped through the backstage door unnoticed, pausing only long enough to throw his ragged backpack in one of the cubby holes. He headed for the classroom area but then stopped, remembering he needed to fetch some props from the back room. It'd make him late but he didn't care. It was badass to be late.

He took his sweet time going to the dressing room. Part of it was because he wanted to be as late as possible—to make a scene, of course—and part of it was because he was a little creeped out. He'd never admit it to anyone, but the flickering fluorescent lights and the black walls and exposed pipes and creaks of the settling roof spooked him, sent clammy prickles up and down his spine. And any minute, he was certain a ghost would jump out at him. James Henley had said he'd seen a ghost up on the walkway before and gone into grotesque detail. Part of Davey was far too fascinated for his own good but part of him seriously didn't want a run-in. But he didn't want to be a wimp, so he silently dared the ghost to come out and bother him.

All the ghastly thoughts really worked his nerves up. By the time he turned the doorknob, he could hardly breathe and his hands were jittery and sticky with sweat. The room was dark but the dim sliver of light from the hallway was just enough for him to make out a form moving around near the opposite wall, and he heard an accompanying bump, a groan. A scream rose in his throat but he quickly swallowed it and fumbled futilely for the lights, opening his mouth to yell at the stupid spirit who dared to challenge him, who dared to scare the shit out of him.

What he saw was quite possibly worse than a ghost.

Jade had Adam pinned down to the ratty ass couch in the corner, and was sucking face like his life depended on it. The fact that they were doing this _in private_ proved it _wasn't_ a hoax. Davey felt faint; he must've turned about ten shades of white. For a moment, he couldn't move. He could only stare, vision zooming in closer and closer, to Jade's mouth on Adam's, to Adam's lanky arms encircling Jade's lithe waist. And they were kissing and kissing...and kissing some more. Open-mouthed. With tongue. Davey knew because he saw it, and he also saw the saliva at the corner of Adam's mouth, and how Jade slurped it up eagerly. His stomach turned for more than one reason. And all he could think about was how _gross_ it was. It wasn't because of what they were doing. It was because Jade was really into this _with Adam_. Before, when it'd been a joke, it'd been hot but now that he was serious it was the opposite.

Shaking himself out of the trance, Davey quickly shut the door, again unnoticed. He slumped against the cinder block wall, heart thumping uncomfortably and limbs reduced to jelly weights. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't _not_ think of it. It wasn't just a rumor. It _was_ true.

Now he really didn't know what to do. It was beyond awkward but he couldn't just let this go on—not for the sake of their reputations though. He didn't really feel like he had a logical reason, other than the fact that Adam was a fucking _asshole_ and this was bound to end badly. Maybe he could talk him out of it. Yeah, that's what he'd do.

But not now. He couldn't face him now. Instead, he eventually slunk off to join the rest of the class—and receive a demerit. Even though it was horribly punk, he found he just didn't care.


	8. Eight: Davey learns the truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could've spent the day outside, but I worked on this instead. It took me way longer than it should've. :L Now it's dark and I can't go out. Oh, well. Anyway, next week shall be the finale. Unless the chapter ends up being too long, in which case I'll have to break it up into two parts. Oh, and sorry I made Adam such an asshole. I love him, I really do.
> 
> Disclaimer: These are mere characters based on the members of AFI (not the real members, duh). I do not own; I do not make money. No disrespect, harm, or libel is intended; this never ever happened (and never will) as this is 100 percent fictitious.

If Davey had thought things were awkward enough before, he’d been wrong. Over the next several days, he had to witness more PDA from Jade and Adam, had to endure more taunts and threats and bitching from Mark, had to face the embarrassment of it all. It shouldn’t have been so bad. But every time he saw them making out all sloppy and desperate, his stomach twisted and his blood ran cold. Part of him wanted to smack some sense into Jade’s head but part of him didn’t want to touch the issue with a ten foot pole. When Adam started publicly groping Jade’s ass though, he knew he couldn’t keep quiet anymore. It stirred up something deep inside him that he hadn’t even known he’d had. So that was how he found himself storming up to Adam one particularly gloomy morning, fists clenched and face set in a solemn scowl.

“Hey, dude,” Adam said amiably, pushing a textbook into his locker. He smiled, and for a split-second, Davey wondered if this was really Adam. Or maybe he’d just grown up.

Suspicious, Davey mumbled, “Hey.” His eyes dropped to his sneakers and he stared at the bits of freshly cut grass sticking to the toes of his shoes. Sighing heavily, he decided to get right to the point. “What changed your mind about Jade?”

Adam pulled back from the locker, blinking. He was trying too hard to look oblivious and innocent; Davey wasn’t buying it. “Whaddya mean?”

Grimacing and pushing back the nausea, Davey said, “Why’re you going out with him? I thought you didn’t want to be _gay_.” He arched an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

“Oh, that.” Adam shifted. “We’re not _really_ going out.”

Davey was stunned. His mouth flapped uselessly open and closed, like a dumb fish. “What the fuck? But Jade said—”

“Fuck that,” Adam laughed, shaking his head. Despite the confrontation, he was in an oddly good mood. It was just too _weird_. Davey felt his stomach twist again.

“Well, if you’re not dating him, why is everyone saying you are?” Davey faltered, rubbing his arm and glancing uneasily at Adam’s glassy eyes and plastic smile. “Why aren’t you doing anything to stop the rumors?”

Adam laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. He draped an arm around Davey’s shoulders, drawing him closer. The overpowering stench of weed hit Davey and he recoiled, but Adam kept a tight hold on him. “Stupid, stupid.” Shaking his head, Adam grinned wider and ruffled Davey’s hair like he was some fucking _kid_. “It’s ‘cause he offered me a blowjob in return for pretending to be his boyfriend.”

“What?” Davey all but screamed, throwing Adam from him. His heart pounded in his ears and he felt light-headed. That couldn’t be true. It had to be a joke. It _had_ to be. Jade wouldn’t… Would he? “Adam, you fucking retard! That’s—that’s… _awful_. You didn’t take him up on it did you?”

“Well, let’s just put it this way.” Adam snickered, slapping Davey too hard on the back. “At least one of us is gettin’ laid.” Guffawing again, he shoved Davey’s shoulder and looked at him as though he expected him to laugh as well. When Davey only stared, dumbfounded, he nudged him in the ribs. “Aw, c’mon, man. Don’t be a stick in the mud. Everyone does it.” He paused, waiting for a reaction. Davey was too horrified and disappointed to say anything though. Slurring, Adam tried, “Aw, dude, it wasn’t _that_ bad. I just pretended he was a girl and it was cool. Sex is sex.”

This was too much. It was one thing if Adam liked Jade. It was awkward and Davey didn’t like it, but he could deal with it. But this? This wasn’t acceptable. A sudden shock of disgust and rage rushed through him, and he shoved Adam against the lockers, only managing to hold back enough to keep from kneeing him in the balls. Damn fucker deserved it though.

“Why the hell are you using him?” Davey snapped, clutching Adam’s shoulders and pressing him harder against the lockers. “What the fuck is wrong with you? You can’t fucking treat people like shit!”

“Dude, calm down,” Adam whined, giving him pathetic, pleading eyes. Oh, yeah. He was definitely high. Otherwise, Davey would’ve already been reduced to a pile of worthless flesh on the floor. “It was only once. C’mon, dude. He was okay with it. He said so.”

Somehow, Davey really doubted this. Jade just didn’t seem like that type of person. Why would he do something like that even for a pretend boyfriend? Maybe he did want to get back at Davey for getting a pretend girlfriend—Davey didn’t doubt he knew the whole deal by now, thanks to Mark’s blabbermouth ways—but he wouldn’t go this far, right? It was difficult to imagine Jade being so casual about sex—or having sex at all for that matter. Yeah, he was a person and people had sex, but he was just too…innocent. Maybe Adam was lying. He narrowed his eyes. That had to be it. For all he knew, the little fucker could’ve convinced or forced Jade to do it; Davey didn’t doubt it would happen, or that Adam would stoop that low for a good time.

Clenching his teeth, he leaned in Adam’s face and spoke in a low, dangerous tone. “Leave Jade _alone_.”

“But, dude, I—”

“Save it,” Davey hissed. He gave Adam a final shove against the lockers, then released him and stalked away, shaking his head.

As angry as he was at Adam, the nagging sense of worry overpowered it. He wanted to punch Adam’s fucking face in but that wouldn’t get them anywhere; besides, he had to make sure Jade was okay before he did anything _heroic_. Who knew what Adam had really done? What if Jade wasn’t okay with it? What if Adam had hurt him? Anxiety burned in his gut. He had to find Jade.

The first place he looked was the senior hall. He was nowhere to be found, so he tried his homeroom. Nope, still no sign of him. Scratching his head, he wracked his brain for any possible places he’d overlooked, and remembered he’d yet to check the auditorium, a favorite spot of his and Jade’s. He only had fifteen minutes before classes started, so he practically ran down the hall, then slipped through the door and quietly snuck backstage.

His heart leapt in his throat when he spotted Jade bent over a backdrop, various jars of paint scattered around him. Quickly, he made his way over, kneeling by Jade’s side and tapping him on the shoulder. As Jade looked up to meet his gaze, he was overly conscious of his noisy breathing and tried to stifle it. It didn’t work.

He’d expected Jade to be upset but he seemed okay at first glance; in fact, he offered a little smile, though it was calmer, quieter than usual. This, of course, had him wondering if it was fake, if something was wrong. But then Jade’s face broke out into a brighter smile as he greeted him in a chirpy tone.

“Hi, Davey!”

“Hey, um…” Davey scooted closer, shifting to sit on his feet. Suddenly, he didn’t know what to say, and he stared down at his hands, only glancing up occasionally at the background Jade was painting.

Since he was utterly failing at conversing, Jade picked up the slack. “What’s up?”

“Nothin’,” Davey muttered, rubbing his arm. He felt Jade’s eyes fall on him then, studying him intensely.

There was a tiny sigh, and he watched out of the corner of his eye as Jade leaned over his work and added a few strokes to the piece. An awkward moment passed before Jade straightened up and spoke again. “What’s wrong?”

Embarrassed, Davey finally turned to face him, immediately regretting the decision when their eyes locked and his face flushed hotly. “I’m, um, just worried about…stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” Jade pressed, brushing his bleached fringe back from his eye. Davey found himself staring at Jade’s hands. He’d never really paid much attention to how lovely and long his fingers were.

Realizing Jade was waiting for a response, Davey quickly shook himself from the trance. “Um, just…” He breathed out heavily. “You and Adam.”

Jade frowned slightly, and Davey wondered if he’d crossed a line. “What about it?” His body tensed.

Davey would have to be gentle and easy about this. Already, Jade seemed defensive. And Davey didn’t blame him. “Adam said you guys weren’t really dating. Is that true?” He bit his lip, anxious. Part of him hoped that Jade would say it wasn’t true, but part of him also hoped Jade would say it was. His head spun in confusion, and he really didn’t want to think about _why_ he felt that way; however, it couldn’t be denied, and he inwardly hung his head in defeat. _He liked Jade_.

“What?” Jade’s startled voice tore Davey out of his downward spiral. When he looked up, Jade’s sappy puppy dog eyes were drooping, sad. “I can’t believe he said that. He agreed to be my boyfriend.”

Now it was Davey’s turn to be startled. “Seriously?” He tried to find the right words, but they wouldn’t come no matter how hard he tried to think of them. All he could feel was sheer disappointment. Not just because Jade was dating someone, but because that _someone_ was _Adam_. Didn’t Jade have any sense at all? Adam was a fucking douche bag! So instead of being considerate, he only added to Jade’s disappointment. “Some boyfriend he is, going around bragging about getting _laid_ and pretending you’re a girl.”

Wincing, Jade put his cup of paint down and stared at the background, as though he wanted to sink into it. Immediately, Davey felt awful for being so stupid, for making things worse. Tentatively, he placed a hand on Jade’s back, giving it a slight pat as he mumbled a weak apology.

“I can’t believe he said that,” Jade lamented, looking crushed and frustrated. “It’s not even true.”

Selfishly, Davey felt a wave of relief wash over him. Thank fuck. It’d just been a lie, like he’d first suspected. He almost had to laugh over the fact he’d even so much as considered the possibility that Jade would give head to Adam. A shuddering half-sigh, half-chuckle escaped before he could contain it, earning him a questioning glance from Jade.

“That’s Adam for you,” Davey said weakly. “I can’t believe you thought it was a good idea to date him. He’s so fucking stupid.”

Jade smiled sadly. “Maybe so, but I really did like him.”

Davey watched him go back to painting, shell-shocked. It made no sense. Why the hell did Jade like Adam anyway? There was nothing to like. He looked dorky, was obnoxious, and acted like an asshole. He was stupid, loud, and rude. There was absolutely no way Jade could really mean that. It had to be his way of retaliating. Still, the more he thought about it, the more his heart sank and the more he realized Jade wasn’t that type of person. Even if he was annoying and pushy and, okay, sometimes a bit whiny, he had a kind, gentle heart and meant well. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. Oh, and _Adam was taking advantage of him_.

Swallowing his anger, he tried to think of a way to get Jade to see the truth. If he listed these negative qualities, it wouldn’t do much good because Jade would just deny it. He knew what it was like to really like someone and ignore everything wrong. Maybe Adam was a god in Jade’s eyes. Whatever it was, he couldn’t pin it down, so he asked, “Why?”

A moment of silence. Jade gave the finishing touch to a cloud, then dropped the paintbrush in a cup of water, leaning back on his haunches and shaking his hair from his eyes. Another sad smile scrawled across his face, and as the bell rang, he picked up two of the jars and stood. “Because he reminds me of you.”


	9. Nine: Jade breaks and Davey breaks away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the last chapter. :) It turned out a little differently than I'd planned, but I'm happy with it, and I hope you will enjoy it too. Thank you to everyone who's read, reviewed, and supported me so far. It means the world to me.
> 
> Note: There are some slightly offensive terms and themes in this chapter (as if the whole thing didn't have them). Obviously, it does not reflect how I feel. Oh, and Mark and Adam are still assholes. :L I really need to make it up to their characters some day.
> 
> Disclaimer: These are mere characters based on the members of AFI (not the real members, duh). I do not own; I do not make money. No disrespect, harm, or libel is intended; this never ever happened (and never will) as this is 100 percent fictitious.

“You’re an asshole!”

The sharp smack was loud enough to be heard even over the other students in the hallway. Davey looked up from his locker just in time to catch Jade pulling his hand from Adam’s face, glaring daggers, and Adam reaching up to touch his reddened cheek with a stupefied expression. Instead of grimacing, like Mark was, he felt this odd, warm ball of triumph swelling within him. Next thing he knew, a lopsided grin was stretching his face out. He’d never been so relieved.

Adam had been an asshole. He truly deserved every ounce of Jade’s scorn, if not more. Ever since Tuesday, he’d been going on and on to anyone who would listen about what a good lay Jade was. He called him every name in the book. But mostly, he referred to Jade as a _slut_ or a _whore_. Jade might not have known why Adam was treating him like that, but Davey knew because he’d known Adam too long. It was to protect his stupid macho reputation and keep everyone from thinking he was _gay_. Davey rolled his eyes. Why did people fucking care so much? He slammed his locker shut.

Yelling brought his attention back to Jade and Adam. “—and you’re the most selfish bastard I’ve ever met! What’s wrong with you? What made you think that was ever a good idea, huh?” Jade smacked Adam again.

Davey half-expected Adam to cower against the lockers like he had when he’d confronted him. But he wasn’t high now. Instead of ducking his head meekly, he recovered his shock and grabbed Jade by the shoulders, shoving him against the wall and pinning him there. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop hitting me. You’re not a girl. I can hit you back.”

Jade snorted. “I’d like to see you try. You’re probably too chicken.” He smirked, eyes sparkling darkly, knowing he’d hit Adam’s weak spot.

“I see how it’s gonna be.” Adam tightened his jaw, then pulled back his face and slugged Jade in the face. And he didn’t stop there.

A curious crowd gathered around the two. No one egged them on but no one stopped them either. Mark hurried from Davey’s side and disappeared into the crowd, pushing through to make his way to the middle. Davey’s heart caught in his throat. Swallowing hard, he dropped his ragged backpack to the floor and followed him. He knew Mark wouldn’t be on his—or Jade’s—side. In Mark’s mind, Jade had started the fight and, therefore, it was his duty to stand up for Adam. Panic welled up inside Davey. He shoved past the students just in time.

They had Jade pinned to the floor. Jade had his long, thin arms raised above his head in pathetic self-defense. Both Mark and Adam were hurling insults and curses at him while swinging their fists. Even so, Jade had too much pride to beg for mercy, though he was bruised and bleeding. This was too much. The last shreds of Davey’s former allegiance to Mark and Adam dissolved in an instant, and he lunged at them, knocking them both to the floor in one swift tackle with strength he hadn’t known he’d possessed. They must’ve been as shocked as he was because they all lay in a tangled, confused pile for several moments, blinking stupidly up at the angry face of their attacker.

Davey figured he’d get in trouble but he didn’t care at this point. Jade was more important to him than losing the afternoon to detention or having to face his parents if he got suspended. And though he wanted more than anything to slam Mark and Adam’s thick skulls together, he didn’t.

“What the fuck is wrong with you guys?” he shouted, shaking them. “Have you lost your goddamn minds?”

Adam wriggled out from under him, shooting a contemptuous glare. “Fuck you,” was all he said.

Davey opened his mouth, then shut it, throwing a glance over his shoulder to check on Jade. Much to his surprise, he was no longer lying crumpled against the wall. In fact, he was nowhere to be found. Glowering, he turned back to Mark and Adam, who returned the look. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you guys,” Davey said slowly. “But if this is the way you treat a friend, then I want no fucking part of it.”

“Good, ‘cause we don’t want you around anyway,” Mark retorted. “You’re such a fucking fag.”

Narrowing his eyes, Davey gripped Mark’s arm. “What the fuck?” He glanced from Adam to Mark, astonished. “That makes no sense, dude. I’m just sticking up for my friend. If you’re gonna call anyone a fag, I think you should be lookin’ at Adam. He’s the one who’s been sucking face with Jade for the past few weeks.” He paused, awaiting a response. All he got was mumbled curses and glares. Gritting his teeth, he continued, “You stupid fucks. You should just go out ‘cause you two really deserve each other.” He watched in satisfaction as their faces darkened, as their eyes warned him.

“Watch it, Marchand,” Adam snapped, voice dangerously low. “You’re pushing it.”

“It’s true,” Davey continued, growing bolder. He stuck his chest out, stared down his nose at them in sheer defiance. “Jade’s not a fag. I’m not either. If anyone’s a fucking fag, it’s you.”

“But Jade’s actually _gay_ ,” Mark said angrily. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Being gay doesn’t make you as a fag. Pretending to be gay to hurt someone makes you a fag.”

With that, Davey stood up and brushed himself off, turning around and hurrying down the hall. He had to get a head start before his words sunk in and they chased him down. It was only a matter of time. And he couldn’t believe he’d ever been stupid enough to give them a second chance, and he couldn’t believe he’d ever been stupid enough _not_ to give Jade a chance in the first place. Sympathy that was far too sweet and soft and mushy for his liking welled up inside him. His heart fluttered uncomfortably in his ribcage. There was really only one place he could think of where Jade might be, and that was where he always was these days. The auditorium.

He skidded around the corner, sneakers squeaking obnoxiously loud. Somewhere behind him, he heard the clumsy footfalls echoing off the walls, and when he heard Mark and Adam’s curses coming closer, he realized he had to hurry. Adrenaline spurred him on, and he dashed down the hall, shoving past students and ignoring the shouts of a disgruntled teacher. Fuck her. He didn’t have time for it. His chest started to tighten though he wasn’t sure if it was from running, the secret fear of Mark and Adam, or worry for Jade. It could’ve been all three. But he knew which one affected him the most when he finally pushed past the double doors into the cooler, darker auditorium, lump rising to his throat.

He took the steps to the stage two at a time, skittering backstage just as he heard the doors open again. Glancing around wildly, he found he was alone behind the black curtains. There was no teacher. No students. _No Jade_. Hearing clamored footsteps coming up the steps behind him, he hurried for the back rooms, slipping into the shadowy hallway just as the billowing curtains brushed back and the sound of mumbling echoed in the large, open space.

Heart thumping uncomfortably, he stifled his heaving breaths to the point of near suffocation. Quietly, he slipped through the first door on his right, blinking in the brighter, fluorescent light of the bathroom. After making sure the door had shut without a sound, he looked around for some sort of hiding place, some sort of escape. His eyes fell on the window high above. First, he threw a glance back over his shoulder at the door, holding his breath. Nothing but deathly silence answered him. So he climbed up on the chipped countertop and reached for the frosted glass panes. No matter how he pushed, the lock wouldn’t budge. It was rusted shut. He gave a few more futile tugs before giving up.

Looking around frantically, he realized there was no way out of the bathroom. He’d have to hide in one of the two stalls. Or he would’ve, had they not both been occupied. There was no time to find a new room to hide in either because Mark and Adam’s voices hovered just beyond the door. He swallowed hard, feeling like a trapped animal. They’d kill him. He just knew it.

He didn’t have time to mourn his demise because a loud sniffle drew his attention away from his panic and towards the closed stall door closest to the wall. He shuffled slowly over as the sniffles increased, followed by the sound of someone blowing their nose. A quick look at the bright pink, Sharpie marked Converse told him all he needed to know. His heart melted, and he knocked softly on the stall door.

The sniffling ceased. He couldn’t hear anything but soft, uneven breaths. That was all he had to hear to know Jade was just as scared as he was. “Jade?” he whispered hoarsely, leaning closer to the door. “Is that you?”

There was a hesitant pause. Then: “Uh huh.”

“Are you okay?” Davey’s voice dropped lower, barely audible. He could hardly hear himself over his ragged breathing and the erratic beating of his heart.

“Un uh.”

“Can I—” He paused for a long moment, swallowing nervously and splaying shaky fingers over the purple-red surface of the stall door. “Can I come in?”

A weak sigh. The lock scraped and then the door opened, revealing Jade standing in the middle of the stall, wiping at red-rimmed eyes with a handful of cheap toilet paper. He looked scared and lost, like a kicked puppy. And as far as Davey was concerned, he _was_ a kicked puppy. Offering a weary smile, he slipped into the small space and shut the door behind him, sliding the lock back in place.

The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Both were holding their breaths. Davey kept his mouth shut for fear of saying something stupid. Jade probably kept his shut for fear of breaking down.

With a shaking hand, Jade crumpled the handful of paper in his long fingers, rubbing it against his tear-stained cheek and hiding behind his wing of bleached hair in shame. They’d finally broken him, and it made Davey’s heart ache to think he’d come to this point, when all along he’d been so strong. He’d been stronger than Davey had, and shown him so much. And now… And now Davey didn’t know what to do. He should’ve touched him, hugged him, told him it would be just fine. But he couldn’t find his tongue. His mouth had gone completely dry and the useless organ had glued itself to the roof of his mouth.

Sighing, Jade finally dropped the wadded up, snotty ball into the toilet bowl and used his foot to push the handle. The roar startled Davey, and Jade smiled through his tears as he jumped. The sadness in his puppy-dog eyes was what finally made Davey crack. He cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry,” he said uselessly, lifting his hands only to have them fall back to his sides. He wet his lips, trying to force himself to say something a bit more helpful.

“It’s okay,” Jade mumbled, scuffing at the cracked, dirty tile with the toe of his shoe. “It’s not your fault everyone hates me.”

“No one hates you,” Davey protested, only to receive a wounded gaze. “I mean, other than Mark and Adam…” He squeezed his eyes shut and nearly kicked himself as soon as the words had left his stupid, careless lips.

“I don’t know why,” Jade whispered, breath hitching audibly. It tugged at Davey’s heart, and he had to swallow hard to keep himself from saying something twice as stupid. “I just wanted to make friends.” Jade’s voice sounded pained, wistful. Davey’s heart twisted uncomfortably, like it was trying to wring all the blood out. He had to open his eyes, but the sight only made the tightening sensation worse. Then Jade added, “And a boyfriend.”

At this, Davey couldn’t help but groan. Though he felt sorry for him, he didn’t see why Jade felt like he _needed_ a boyfriend. He opened his mouth to tell him this, then realized it would be pointless right now. Running a hand through his hair, he regarded Jade with sheepish eyes. “Well, you have one friend.”

Jade’s lips twitched up in a brief smile. He nodded. “Yeah.” He paused for so long Davey wondered if he was done talking. He shifted uncomfortably, rubbing his elbow and wishing he could look away. But they couldn’t seem to break eye contact. Finally, though, Jade dropped his gaze to the floor. “I don’t fit in. I’m just so different and I don’t understand why.”

Again, Davey felt awkward. All he could do was nod dumbly. As much as he wanted to tell Jade that it was cool, that he was cool, he couldn’t find the right words. And when he did find his tongue, the words that left his mouth ended up being the cheesiest bullshit he’d ever sprouted. “Just do whatever you want. Be yourself. I mean, you were cool being who you were. Don’t let some dumbshits fuck your life up. Just because they don’t like you for who you are doesn’t mean everyone won’t.”

Jade smiled wider, showing his crooked teeth, fresh tears glistening in his eyes. “You’re right. Thanks.”

The soft smile on Jade’s face, and the way his eyes lit up when he looked at him, made the tightening in Davey’s chest subside to a bearable pulse. Now it felt warm and soothing, like the gentle lapping of the tide against the shore. He wished he could tell Jade, and it suddenly felt as though it was important to tell him, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Despite everything he’d learned, despite everything Jade had shown him, he didn’t have the courage. So he backed up against the stall door, ready to leave. Surprisingly, he felt calm enough to face Mark and Adam now.

Jade had other ideas, however. He stepped forward and pressed Davey’s body into the corner of the stall. Davey blinked, dumbfounded, as Jade’s arms snaked around him and held him in a snug embrace. Smiling contentedly, Jade pressed his cheek against Davey’s and squeezed tighter. With shaking, uncertain arms, Davey returned the hug.

He felt his breath catch in his throat as Jade leaned forward and boldly stole a kiss. It started as a peck and escalated into something deeper. Jade threaded his fingers through Davey’s hair as he tugged him closer, melding their mouths together in something wet and warm and satisfying. It touched something small and ailing deep inside Davey. He felt his hands fumbling, moving lower of their own accord, and they brushed against the skin between the hem of Jade’s tight T-shirt and the top of his jeans, exploring the area clumsily. Jade moved his own hands down and captured Davey’s, keeping them from drifting lower like he desperately wanted them to.

They pulled away with a sloppy, wet-sounding smack, a thin string of saliva connecting them. Immediately, Davey wanted to close the space between them again, to feel the soft, gentle touch of Jade’s plush lips against his own. He licked his lips where the flavor remained; it tasted like mango.

“So,” Jade said, breaking the silence, “does this mean you’ll go out with me now?”

Davey’s face flushed. He wasn’t sure how to respond, but he was cornered—literally. He’d better think of something soon because Jade’s eyes were pleading with him. Blowing a strand of hair from his face, he tried to think logically, but then Jade kissed the corner of his mouth so tenderly he was afraid to say no. What reason did he have to say no anyway?

Several moments passed where they stared into each others’ eyes. Jade was waiting patiently, but his gaze was expectant. Davey licked his lips again, hands fluttering to Jade’s elbows and holding them tightly. He didn’t want to say no but…he didn’t want to say yes either. If he wasn’t sure, it was best he didn’t agree to it right away.

“Not now,” he said. Smiling feebly, he offered an apologetic gaze. “We should just be friends. At least for awhile.”

Instead of getting upset, Jade smiled and nuzzled his nose against Davey’s chin and neck. “That’s fine with me. As long as we can cuddle.”

“Uh, well...” Davey laughed weakly. “Okay.”

“Thanks, Davey.” Jade captured him in a bone-crushing hug, burying his face in the crook of his neck.

“Yeah. Uh, you’re welcome.”

And Davey grinned over the top of Jade’s head so hard his face hurt. This was the start to a beautiful friendship, he was sure. Yeah, Jade was really weird, but he’d rather be friends with someone like that than someone like Mark and Adam. Who cared about their sort of conformity anyway?

For all he knew, Jade was the wisest and the punkest of them all.


End file.
